Chief Minister KCR’s Party To Skip Opposition Meet Today, Cites Congress

A big meeting today called by Mamata Banerjee to discuss a joint strategy for the Presidential election next month will test opposition unity amid efforts by various leaders to put up a front to take on the ruling BJP in polls ahead, including the 2024 national election.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee invited 22 political parties to the meeting in Delhi to discuss a united fight against the BJP and its allies in the election for a new President of India.

An early spoiler in the attempts to unite against the BJP was the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, which opted out of the meeting raising strong objections to the Congress being invited.

“There is no question of sharing any platform with the Congress,” said the TRS in a statement.

The party said the Congress had been invited despite its objections and referred to Rahul Gandhi’s recent criticism. “Rahul Gandhi, in a recent public meeting in Telangana, had targeted the TRS government without any word of criticism against the BJP,” the statement said, accusing the Congress of “ganging up with the BJP” in Telangana.

The presidential elections will take place on July 18 and the results will be declared on July 21.

NCP leader Sharad Pawar, who will attend the meeting, has reportedly declined an offer to be the opposition’s candidate for President. His party says the veteran is reluctant to fight a losing battle as he doubts the opposition will have the numbers to push its candidate for the top job.

Mamata Banerjee met with Sharad Pawar last evening, soon after arriving in Delhi.

The Congress and the Left, who are Mamata Banerjee’s rivals in Bengal, have both confirmed their participation.

Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is unlikely to attend the meet in Delhi, sources say.

Among the leaders who are likely to attend the meet are Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) president and Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, CPI’s Binoy Viswam and CPM’s Elamaram Kareem.

Apart from this, DMK’s TR Baalu, Shiv Sena’s Subhash Desai, RLD’s Jayant Chaudhary, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party’s Mehbooba Mufti are also expected to attend the meet.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda are also likely to join.

Mamata Banerjee has also sent an invitation to former BJP ally Akali Dal but the party is unlikely to attend the meeting.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which has been invited, is unlikely to attend the meeting.