Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad ask Congress, Left to build anti-BJP alliance

But Opposition unity a chimera because of regional contradictions, absence of a lynchpin

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday asked the Congress and Left parties to take the initiative in forging a 'grand alliance' against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) across the country.

Kumar's ally in the Bihar government, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad also tweeted the need for such an alliance to take on Narendra Modi-led BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

But many within the Opposition space, particularly among the Left parties, believe such an effort looks could be a non-starter because of discredited leaderships of the Opposition parties and regional contradictions.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) chief Sitaram Yechury has