Nitish, Stalin, Pawar among Opposition leaders to attend Karnataka swearing-in

In a show of opposition unity, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and a host of leaders will reach Karnataka for the swearing-in ceremony of Congress leader Siddaramaiah as the state’s CM, a coming together of a non-BJP bloc ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

While West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee will not be attending the swearing-in ceremony she has designated party leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar for the programme, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien tweeted on Friday.

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Besides Kumar, those who have confirmed their presence include Stalin, Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, Congress leaders said.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has also invited leaders of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Shiv Sena (UBT), Samajwadi Party, People’s Democratic Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Revolutionary Socialist Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Rashtriya Lok Dal, Kerala Congress and Indian Union Muslim League for the ceremony, said people in the party aware of the matter.

However, the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala criticised the Congress for not inviting the state chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan to the swearing-in ceremony. “Congress’s move has proved that it cannot carry out the mission of bringing together the secular democratic forces of the country against the BJP’s ‘fascist’ politics”, LDF Convenor EP Jayarajan said in Kannur in Kerala.

Congress leads the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala.

Nitish Kumar, who has also been stressing on opposition unity to take on the BJP next year said he has been invited by the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for the swearing-in ceremony. “It (Karnataka assembly poll) was an important election. Also, I have an old friendship with him (Siddaramaiah). I will be going tomorrow,” he told reporters in Bihar’s Darbhanga on Friday.

Kumar did not answer reporters’ questions on the meeting of opposition leaders, which is expected to be held in Bihar. “Let me come back from the function tomorrow. We will take a call in due course,” said the JD(U) supremo, who had hinted that the meeting could be held after the election in the southern state.

Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister M Veerappa Moily told news agency PTI, “It (the swearing-in ceremony) could also be launchpad for the opposition unity and demonstration of strength and solidarity”.

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Political analyst Ramakrishna Upadhya said the Assembly elections win in Karnataka “is a shot in the arm for the Congress after losing so many elections. The victory is indeed a morale booster for Congress and assert itself ahead of the 2024 elections”.

Senior journalist and political observer Vishweshwar Bhat told PTI, “It (invitation to opposition leaders to attend the ceremony) is a brilliant move by the Congress in its efforts to restore its nationwide presence. The Congress is also sending signals from Karnataka for opposition unity.”