As the mega meet of the Opposition parties in Patna on June 23 gathers steam,Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati on Thursday clarified her stance against an opposition alliance. “Dil mile na mile, haath milate rahiye,” Mayawati commented borrowing Nida Fazli’s words. What she suggested is that the regional parties are not on the same page. “It would have been better if before preparing for such an alliance keeping 2024 Lok Sabha election in mind, these parties had cleared their mind and intention. In UP, 80 Lok Sabha seats are crucial but it does not seem so from the attitude of the opposition parties. Are they serious? Without the right priorities, will there be any change?” Mayawati wrote in a long Twitter post.
Janata Dal (United), however, maintained that Mayawat’s party was not invited to the meet. RLD president Jayant Chaudhary has also written to Bihar chief minister Nitih Kumar expressing his inability to participate in the Patna meeting because of a pre-decided family programme.
The mega meeting of opposition leaders comes as a culmination of the meetings that Nitish Kumar held with several opposition chief ministers and set the ball on an united opposition rolling ahead of the election. This is also the first such meeting towards the goal of a united opposition — which is likely to be attended by Rahul Gandhi. Opposition mega meet in Patna: Who all will be attending Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, former chief minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti are among those expected to attend the first high-level Opposition meeting.
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury have agreed to be part of the meeting. Mamata Banerjee is likely to be accompanied by national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to the meeting. The Trinamool is considering the meeting as a “good beginning” ahead of the 2024 elections. All together, leaders from 20 parties are set to attend the meeting. Ahead of the crucial meering, Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha joined hands with the BJP-led NDA exiting the Mahagathbandhan.
