Stage set for Opposition’s second mega meet, Bengaluru decked up

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, with state in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala and home minister G Parameshwara, inspected the preparations for the second meeting of leaders of the Opposition parties scheduled to begin on Monday in Bengaluru, leaders familiar with the developments said on Sunday.

At least 24 Opposition parties will huddle together for a second meeting to formulate a strategy to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The first meeting was held in Patna, Bihar, on June 23, with as many as 32 Opposition leaders from 15 political parties in attendance.

The upcoming meeting is scheduled at the Taj West End in Bengaluru, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge already said to have sent letters inviting leaders, people familiar with the matter said.

In his letter addressed to top Opposition party leaders, Kharge has said it is important to continue discussions and build on the momentum they have created in Patna.

“The meeting was a great success as we were able to discuss various important issues that threaten our democratic polity and came to a unanimous agreement on unitedly fighting the next General Elections,” Kharge said in his invitation letter.

According to leaders in the know of the developments, they will have informal discussions on Monday, after which the chief minister will hold dinner.

Congress Parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi is expected to attend the dinner meeting on Monday, where leaders of these parties will be present. The actual discussion is said to be held on Tuesday, the leaders said.

“This is a national matter. The government that is being run by BJP under PM Narendra Modi in the last nine years has caused a lack of development, as well as triggered a sense of fear in all the states. We think the laws that the being introduced, for example, the Uniform Civil Code, will result in unrest in society. To make sure that the BJP doesn’t come back to power at the Centre again, this Opposition Unity meeting is being done,” home minister G Paramshwara said on Sunday.

“This is the second meeting which is being held under the leadership of the Congress party. All the senior leaders of various parties will take part in the meeting. Leaders of at least 20 parties will come to the state and show a united front. This is a good development. We hope there is a strong and pro-people government at the Centre,” the home minister added.

As many as eight new parties are said to have extended their support to the Opposition parties’ efforts to present a united front against the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The Patna meeting, hosted by Janata Dal (United), had seen the presence of Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Trinamool Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M), CPI, CPI-ML(L), Samajwadi Party, National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Shiv Sena (UBT) and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).

On the eve of the meeting hosted by it, the Congress stated that it will oppose the ordinance on Delhi administrative services in Parliament, a key condition put by the Aam Aadmi Party to attend the talks.

“Today, the Congress party cleared its position against Delhi Ordinance. We welcome the announcement. Along with this, AAP will attend the opposition meet in Bengaluru,” AAP leader Raghav Chadha said.

Fifteen parties attended the last meeting for opposition unity hosted by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar in Patna on June 23. “This time, we are expecting leaders of 26 parties,” a leader said.

Sources said the MDMK, KDMK, VCK, RSP, Forward Bloc, IUML, Kerala Congress (Joseph) and Kerala Congress (Mani) are among the political parties that will join the second opposition meeting.

Besides, the Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) of Krishna Patel and Tamil Nadu’s Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) led by M H Jawahirullah are likely to join the front after an invite was sent to them too.

Congress Parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi is also likely to attend the meeting this time.

The BJP hit out at the opposition parties, alleging that they are a “divided lot” and have no specific programme other than to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

BJP president J P Nadda alleged that opposition parties were in the process of allying to “protect” their dynastic politics. The proposed coalition is not a “Patriotic Democratic Alliance” but a “Protection of Dynasties Alliance”, he said in Jaipur.

The Opposition meeting also comes in the backdrop of the split in the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the West Bengal panchayat polls, which saw widespread violence that claimed many lives with state units of the Congress and Left parties accusing the TMC government of oppression.

With agency inputs