Ahead of meeting of top opposition party leaders, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asserted that they will fight together "like a family" to take on the NDA "one to one."
The meeting will take place here on Friday to develop a strategy for the formation of an anti-BJP front for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
According to sources, the opposition parties would prefer to focus on finding common ground rather than the contentious leadership issue right now. It is anticipated that representatives from 15 parties, including half a dozen chief ministers, will attend the discussions.
A day before the crucial discussions, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) sources said that the party would walk out of the meeting if Congress didn't promise to support it against the Centre's ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi. This came to light as divisions in the ranks of the opposition emerged.
In addition, the Samajwadi Party would be the only Uttar Pradesh-based party at the conclave; BSP supremo Mayawati was not invited, and Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary planned to miss it because of a family event.
Among the leaders expected to attend the first high-level opposition meeting are Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (TMC), Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann (AAP), Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin (DMK), Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren (JMM), Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav
It will take place at the 1, Aney Marg residence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (JDU) and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav (RJD).
The National Conference, PDP, CPI(M), CPI, and CPI(ML) leaders are also expected to attend the meeting.
Mamata meets Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi and Tejashwi
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met with Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Yadav, former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav in this location.
Mamata told reporters outside Tejashwi Yadav's house, "I cannot say anything now. We have come here as we will fight together, one to one (against the BJP). We will fight together like a collective family."
The head of the TMC, on the other hand, declined to answer questions about her reservations regarding the Congress party's alliance with the Left in her state and the Aam Aadmi Party's threat of a "walkout" if the Congress did not support the Delhi ordinance. Later at night, Cm Kumar met Banerjee.
She stated that the BJP must be defeated in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to save the country from disaster and expressed hope that the opposition meeting would be constructive in an interview with reporters in Kolkata before departing for Patna.
Mann and Kejriwal also made their way to Patna Thursday evening, where they paid a visit to the Patna Sahib gurudwara.
On Thursday, CM Stalin of Tamil Nadu, CPI chief D Raja, CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti arrived in Patna.
According to sources, the meeting was being viewed as a starting point for the Opposition to unite in opposition to the BJP administration led by Narendra Modi.
They stated that as a result, a fundamental plan and road map for Opposition unity are likely to be discussed, with the contentious issues of seat-sharing and the leadership issue being avoided for the time being.
"This is just the beginning. A meeting of minds is important. The strategy, leadership question and seat-sharing are unlikely to be discussed at this stage," a senior Opposition leader said on condition of anonymity.
The leader stated that the top of the agenda would be issues that the Opposition and the BJP would jointly raise to corner the BJP. In this context, the Manipur violence and the Center's alleged failure in Manipur are likely to be discussed.
All eyes are on the meeting's agenda and whether the AAP's desire for the Center's ordinance on the control of administrative services in the national capital will play a significant role in the discussions.
The Congress has remained evasive about its position regarding whether it will support the AAP or not when the ordinance is put to the test in Parliament by the BJP-led Centre.
Kejriwal on Tuesday had communicated trust that the Congress will clear its stand on the Centre's ordinance at the June 23 meeting.
WB: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury holds protest in Murshidabad
Additionally, tensions exist between the Congress and TMC at the time of the meeting. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, held a dharna outside a block office in the Murshidabad district of Bengal to demand action against Trinamool Congress activists who allegedly attacked Congress workers prior to the state's panchayat elections.
The Opposition has been the target of the BJP's attacks due to divisions within its ranks and the leadership debate over who will represent them as prime minister.
Akhilesh Prasad Singh, the head of the Bihar Congress, retaliated against the BJP's criticism by stating that the question of who would be the Opposition alliance's prime ministerial face is irrelevant because the leadership issue can be addressed collectively after the BJP is defeated in the elections in 2024.
Singh also asserted that the BJP will lose less than 100 seats when the opposition parties unite to run in the general elections next year.
D Raja hails opposition leaders' meet
The meeting of opposition leaders in Patna was hailed by CPI general secretary D Raja as a step forward "in the right direction."
"This meeting is being held immediately after the Karnataka elections. Several state elections are coming up and the Lok Sabha polls are due in 2024. This (the meeting) will give clarity," Raja told PTI.
He asserted that the BJP is becoming "jittery and desperate" as a result of the secular democratic parties uniting, which is itself a very positive message.
Raja stated that secular democratic parties must collaborate with the primary goal of defeating the BJP, expressing confidence that the anti-BJP alliance can win in 2024.
"This is not just for winning seats and forming a government. This is to safeguard democracy, Constitution, the secular fabric of the country and even safeguarding the sovereign independence of Parliament," he said.
"When elections take place, the electoral strategy and seat-sharing will be discussed at the state level. It will be based on the balance of political forces. There, I think, the secular democratic parties must be more reasonable and mutually accommodating," the CPI leader said.
The meeting also happens at a time when the ruling coalition in Patna is changing. One of the "Mahagathbandhan" allies, the former chief minister of Bihar, Jitan Ram Manjhi, left the alliance and joined the NDA.
Mayawati said that the meeting was more about joining hands than hearts, specifically referring to the parties that are scheduled to participate in the opposition conclave.
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