Continuing his efforts for forging a grand alliance of opposition parties to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will participate in the conclave of opposition parties to be held in Patna on June 12.

The meeting has been convened by Janata Dal (United) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar after consultation with leaders of various parties and several chief ministers of opposition-ruled states. Senior leaders of opposition parties are expected to attend the meeting.

SP spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary confirmed that party chief Akhilesh Yadav will attend the meeting in Patna on June 12.

The Congress has also announced that it will participate in the June 12 meeting in Patna. However, the party is yet to decide on who will attend the meeting.

Kumar had met several opposition leaders last month as part of efforts to forge a united front against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He had met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi last month and prior to that, he had a meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Significantly, Nitish Kumar, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah attended the swearing-in ceremony of Siddaramaiah as the Karnataka chief minister in a show of opposition unity.

The opposition has plans to put forward one common candidate to defeat the BJP to upstage it from power at the Centre, but some have expressed reservations over such a proposal as some parties have aspirations to contest the maximum number of parliamentary seats.

The Congress also is not inclined to restrict itself to around 200 seats and wants to contest more seats, claiming that it is a national player unlike many regional outfits and has a presence across the country. It has also contended that it is the only party that can directly take on the BJP due to its national footprint. The victory of the Congress in Karnataka assembly elections has also strengthened its claims.

The Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress are in a coalition government in Bihar and the three parties have been in talks to bring other opposition parties together on a common platform in their fight against the BJP.