Sonia to attend second Opposition meet, dinner hosted by Karnataka CM
Adding more political weight to newfound Opposition unity, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi will attend the second meeting of a grouping of non-BJP parties in Bengaluru on July 18.
Adding more political weight to newfound Opposition unity, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi will attend the second meeting of a grouping of non-BJP parties in Bengaluru on July 18, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Gandhi, who is currently the chairperson of the Congress parliamentary committee, will also attend a dinner on July 17 hosted by Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah. The Bengaluru meeting assumes greater importance than the introductory meeting at Patna on June 23. In Bengaluru, eight more Opposition parties — MDMK, KMDMK, Kerala Congress (M), Kerala Congress (J), RSP, Forward Bloc, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) — will attend the meeting.
Congress functionaries said that Sonia was requested to attend the meeting as the UPA chairperson and also because the Opposition meeting will be held in a Congress-ruled state.
A senior functionary close to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Gandhi took the decision to attend the meeting at least three weeks ago. As a figurehead of the Opposition and as someone with rich experience of managing a national-level coalition, Gandhi’s presence at the Bengaluru meeting will be important.”
A second leader added that Gandhi, who will be at the informal discussions over dinner on July 17 and take part in the formal meeting on July 18, will add to party chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s efforts to unite Opposition parties from diverse backgrounds.
“Moreover, some of the senior leaders who had been UPA allies such as Lalu Prasad and Sharad Pawar have earlier worked with Sonia Gandhi during the Manmohan Singh government. Also, Kharge, Sonia and Rahul attending an Opposition meeting signals the keen interest of the Congress’s highest leadership in forging a broad-based coalition against the BJP,” said the leader cited above.
The Bengaluru meeting is expected to be the only Opposition meeting in a Congress-ruled state in the current series of discussions between non-BJP parties.
The next meeting might take place in Maharashtra or in some north Indian state, Opposition leaders familiar with the planning indicated.
On July 15, Sonia Gandhi has called a meeting of the Congress parliamentary strategy group. Party leaders said that the meeting will fine-tune the Congress strategy for the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament.
The monsoon session will be held from July 20 to August 10 and is expected to be a stormy one.
