Oppn may declare its intent for coalition in June 23 meet
No breakthrough is expected in the first meeting, which will be more of a warm up for subsequent rounds of engagement between the political outfits, two leaders who will participate in the meeting said
New Delhi: The meeting of opposition parties in Patna on June 23 aims to prepare a common ground for a national-level understanding among themselves and make an announcement that they have come together to secure the secular, democratic character of India.
No breakthrough is expected in the first meeting, which will be more of a warm up for subsequent rounds of engagement between the political outfits, two leaders who will participate in the meeting said, seeking anonymity.
Efforts are on to make a declaration of intent in the Patna meeting to address two basic questions: Why the opposition parties are keen to join hands to defeat the central government and why the meeting in Patna is important, one of them said.
“We are discussing a declaration of intent by all the participants that will speak of securing the character of a secular and democratic India,” the first leader said. “We also want to highlight how the supremacy of Indian Constitution have been mercilessly assaulted and why we have to stand in defence of India and all its people.”
Contentious issues such as a proposal to put up a common opposition candidate in at least 400-450 seats against the Bharatiya Janata Party will be discussed in another meeting, the second leader said.
“The meeting in many senses would be a preparatory meeting for like-minded opposition parties to come together. In some cases, we have to find a way to ensure state-level political compulsions don’t obstruct the united fight against the BJP at the national level,” he said.
To be sure, any national-level formation by the opposition parties will need to overlook major political contradictions in certain states. The Aam Aadmi Party has been fighting the Congress as well as the BJP in many places, including Delhi and Punjab. It has also fought elections outside its traditional areas, such as in Goa and Karnataka. In West Bengal and Tripura, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress has been fighting against the Congress and the Left parties, while in Kerala, the Congress and the Left have remained rivals.
“In this situation, we have to find a common thread in the Constitution and the idea of India to keep these parties together,” the first leader said.
In the meeting, the Trinamool Congress is expected to propose setting up of a Delhi-based, small working group to handle day-to-day issues and better coordination among the opposition constituents.
The opposition’s efforts have already faced some hiccups. Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha is on the verge of leaving the ruling alliance in Bihar. Telangana’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi has decided not to join the Patna meeting although chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has been one of the key interlocutors for opposition unity.
