Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was key in bringing over two dozen opposition parties together (File).
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has laughed off reports the opposition INDIA group meeting in Delhi - scheduled by the Congress for this afternoon - was postponed because he refused to attend.
Nitish Kumar told reporters he had a fever and that was why he couldn't travel to Delhi.
"In the news it was being said that I was not going to attend the meeting. How is that possible?" he chuckled as he addressed a gaggle of reporters, "How can it be I don't attend? I was down with a fever... that is why I had said 'no' then. In the next meeting of the alliance I will definitely go."
The Janata Dal (United) leader, seen as one of bloc's founding members, made headlines Tuesday after reports that Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and he planned to skip the meeting.
That the two of them, and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who RSVP-ed 'no' a day earlier, would not attend was seen as a signal underlining the growing chasm in a group meant to unite the opposition to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP in next year's Lok Sabha election.
The Congress declared shortly after they had only meant it to be an "informal" get-together.
READ | Congress Defers INDIA Alliance Meet After Top Leaders RSVP No
Congress boss Mallikarjun Kharge called for the meeting on Sunday, when the party was favourably placed in the Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana Assembly elections.
However, in a cruel twist, what seemed like a position of strength - a robust show would have reinforced the Congress' ability to dictate seat-sharing talks for the Lok Sabha election - evaporated soon after; the BJP took the lead and wound up decimating its rival in the Hindi heartland states.
The Congress' dismal show - Telangana was a silver lining - prompted veiled (and not-so-veiled) criticism from its INDIA allies. Both Akhilesh Yadav and Mamata Banerjee pointed out the national party ignored advice to share seats with regional outfits in each state to minimise division of votes.
READ | "Not Aware": Mamata Banerjee To Skip Next INDIA Bloc Meet
Nitish Kumar has also been critical of the Congress' apparent lack of urgency in pushing the INDIA bloc forward, although his criticism has generally been softer. Last month, as it was prepping for the state polls, the Bihar Chief Minister jabbed the Congress for failing to prep for the national election.
"I want that work should progress. At the next meeting I will tell them (the Congress) this... that we have to work quickly... there is less than a year now. We should all work together... fast," he said today.
READ | "Not Much Progress In INDIA, Congress More Interested In...": Nitish Kumar
Mr Kumar today also called for a common agenda. "Want all of us to work together... no matter which state it is, or which party. When there are other elections, each party gets caught up in their plans."
"There are reports saying, 'I want this.... I want that'. This is wrong. What I want is the welfare of this nation. What I want is for everyone to work together. There should be no personal agenda."
The INDIA bloc meeting that was called for today has been postponed to later this month. The Congress has not set a date but sources suggest it could be either December 18 or 19.
The last meeting was in Mumbai in end-August.
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