Rahul reaches Patna for opposition meet, received by Nitish at airport

Patna: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday received a warm welcome from Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar upon arrival in the state capital for a crucial opposition meeting.

Gandhi, who is in Bihar for the first time after the state assembly polls of 2020, was accompanied by AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and general secretary in charge of organisation, K C Venugopal.

Kumar, accompanied by JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan, drove to the Jayprakash Narayan airport, half-a-kilometer from his residence, to receive the visitors.

The airport premises has been, since morning, chock-a-block with Congress workers and supporters, eager to catch a glimpse of Gandhi, the response of whose 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' has infused the cadre with fresh vigour.

Upon landing in the city, Gandhi drove to Sadaqat Ashram, the Bihar Congress headquarters, to address party workers before attending the opposition meet.

The nearly three kilometers long route was dotted with banners inscribed with the slogan 'muhabbat ki dukaan' which became popular during 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in which Gandhi had asserted that the Congress stood for inclusive politics, in contrast with alleged divisiveness of BJP.

The BJP, on its part, tried to cock a snook at its principal adversary whose woes like disqualification appear to have only added to his political stature.

Close to the party's office here was a gigantic poster, not owned up by any BJP leader, that sought to berate Gandhi, likening him to Shahrukh Khan's character in the movie 'Devdas'.

Gandhi's arrival at the airport was followed, shortly, by CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and working presidents Supriya Sule and Prafull Patel.

The city has been teeming with political bigwigs, pouring in from all parts of the country, who are expected to chalk out a joint strategy for taking on the formidable BJP in next Lok Sabha elections.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah arrived early in the morning.

Many other leaders like Mehbooba Mufti, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann and MK Stalin have been camping in the city since Thursday.

Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray are also expected at the meeting which is scheduled to commence around noon.