Ahead Of Next Opposition Meet, Sonia Gandhi’s Dinner Invite, A Call To AAP

Both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will participate in the second meeting of opposition parties on July 18 (Monday) in Bengaluru, to which 24 parties have been invited, including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Sonia Gandhi is also likely to host a dinner for opposition leaders a day before the meeting called by the Congress as part of ongoing attempts to put up a united fight against the BJP in the 2024 national election.

The first opposition meeting, featuring some 15 parties, took place in Bihar at the instance of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Since then, a split in Maharashtra veteran Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and his nephew Ajit Pawar’s switch to the Eknath Shinde-BJP coalition in the state is seen to have dampened the opposition unity bid somewhat.

The NCP split spurred speculation about opposition alliances fragmenting in other states, like Bihar.

At the same time, sources claim eight new parties will join the meeting on Monday.

These include the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Kongu Desa Makkal Katchi (KDMK), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), All India Forward Bloc, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Kerala Congress (Joseph), and Kerala Congress (Mani).

The KDMK and MDMK were allies of the BJP during the 2014 election which propelled Prime Minister Narendra Modi to power.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who is the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, has sent out invites in which he has referred to the “success” of the first meeting 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,” Mr Kharge said in the letter.

“I believe that it is important to continue these discussions and build on the momentum that we have created. We need to work together to find solutions to the challenges that our country is facing,” he wrote.

RJD chief Lalu Yadav, who has been unwell, has said he will travel to Bengaluru for the meeting.

The first meeting was shadowed by a clash between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the Centre’s Delhi ordinance, with Arvind Kejriwal demanding a declaration of support from the Congress and threatening to skip the next meeting if it was not forthcoming.

Leaders like Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar intervened to stop any escalation as Mr Kejriwal confronted Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge.