Pawar, Sena (UBT) to attend Opposition conclave at Patna
Kharge
may also accept Nitish Kumar invite
With the BJP losing its only Southern bastion, Karnataka, the
Opposition unity efforts have taken a quantum jump.
It is learnt that the NCP supremo Sharad Pawar has agreed to
attend the Opposition conclave being held at Patna at the initiative of Bihar
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray has also
accepted Nitish Kumar's invite and may opt to attend himself or send a senior
leader to Patna. The Congress Party has also signaled to attend the conclave.
There is a likelihood that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge may himself
prefer to go to Patna.
The Chief Ministers of West Bengal and TMC leader Mamata
Banerjee, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren,
Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief
Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI's
General Secretary D Raja, Farooq Abdullah and other prominent leaders are
likely attend this conclave. Nitish Kumar had traveled to various state
capitals to persuade Opposition leaders to come together before the 2024 Lok
Sabha polls.
The Congress high command had told Nitish Kumar that he may go
ahead in his efforts to uniting the Opposition parties as some parties are
uncomfortable in directly talking to it. Mamata Banerjee is keen for an
electoral understanding with the Congress. But her precondition is that it must
not have any truck with the CPM in West Bengal. A formula may be worked
out in the months to come. Arvind Kejriwal has already conveyed his willingness
to join hands with the Congress and other regional parties on the basis of
reciprocity. The AAP is likely to contest a “select” number of Lok Sabha seats.
