Nitish meets Sonia as Oppn mulls putting up a common presidential candidate

The buzz over a larger Opposition umbrella to counter the BJP in the 2019 national polls gained ground as Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi at her official residence.The meeting comes days after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi attended the 100th anniversary of the civil disobedience movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi at Champaran in Bihar.According to sources, the two leaders discussed the recent assembly polls in five states, in which the BJP did well, and the need for the Opposition parties to come together. The meeting between JDU's Nitish Kumar and Sonia Gandhi assumes significance as BSP supremo Mayawati recently made some pro-alliance noises as she targeted the saffron party.SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, who joined hands with the Congress before the UP polls, welcomed Mayawati's remark though SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav did not find the idea interesting.However, SP sources said the change of guard has taken place in the party and Akhilesh ...