Shiv Sena (UBT) to host 3rd meet of Oppn bloc 'INDIA' on Aug 31-Sep 1: Raut

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) will host the third meeting of the opposition bloc INDIA in Mumbai on August 31-September 1, party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters after a Maha Vikas Aghadi meeting in this connection, Raut said Thackeray will host visiting opposition leaders, including five chief ministers, for dinner on August 31.

The two-day deliberations, which will be held at Grand Hyatt in the suburbs, will begin in the evening of August 31 and from 10am on September 1. The meeting will be followed by a press conference, Raut informed.

MVA leaders will talk to the state government on issues of logistics and security for the visiting leaders, including Congress' Rahul Gandhi, he said.

"The MVA leaders who met today resolved to ensure the INDIA meeting is a success on the lines of the ones in Patna and Bengaluru. We have assigned responsibilities to each of the leaders for preparations of the two-day meeting," Raut said.

Among those who were present for Saturday's meeting were NCP founder Sharad Pawar, his party's state unit chief Jayant Patil and national working president Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray and colleagues Subhash Desai and Raut, Congress leaders and former chief ministers Prithviraj Chavan and Ashok Chavan, Congress Legislature Party chief Balasaheb Thorat, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar and Congress state unit chief Nana Patole.

The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is an opposition alliance of 26 parties formed recently to take on the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.