 "Opposition meeting, opposition meet in patna")
The stage is set for the much-anticipated Opposition meeting in Patna on June 23, with leaders from at least 18 political parties expected to attend at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's residence. Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, and MK Stalin, among others, will arrive in Patna on Wednesday night. Kumar, who is the host, is keeping a close eye on the arrangements.
Colourful posters and banners of Rahul Gandhi, Kejriwal, Bhagwat Mann, Akhilesh Yadav, and others can be seen in the state capital. Leaders will be staying in the city's VIP guest house and high-end hotels.
#WATCH | Posters welcoming Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi put up outside the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) office in Bihar's Patna— ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2023
Both the leaders are scheduled to arrive in Patna to attend the opposition party meeting tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/VYb6mA1Ju7
BJP amps up effort against opposition unity
More From This Section
The BJP, on the other hand, is giving it all in garnering support and form new allies. On Tuesday, the patron of the Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) Jitan Ram Manjhi met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi. His son Santosh Suman, who was a cabinet minister in the 'Mahagathbandhan' government, was also present.
The meeting was significant as Manjhi has a sizable Dalit vote bank in Bihar. Soon after the meeting, the HAM announced that it was now an NDA ally.
“From today, we are an NDA partner. We have agreed to support the NDA and the NDA is also ready to be with us,” Manjhi told reporters.
#WATCH | PM Narendra Modi is one of the most popular leaders in the world. Amit Shah & PM Modi are taking the nation forward. We've decided to come back to NDA and met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in this regard and he has agreed, says Former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi https://t.co/rSMlRRsbEQ pic.twitter.com/yjwr5uSOsi— ANI (@ANI) June 21, 2023
Who will be attending the meeting?
Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar, Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin, West Bengal C M Mamata Banerjee, and Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah and People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and Left leaders will be attending the meeting.
What topics are likely to be discussed?
According to a close confidant of Nitish Kumar, the chief minister, who is attempting to unite the opposition parties, will host the leaders. He will deliver an opening speech as soon as the meeting begins.
Nitish Kumar will also encourage everyone to share their thoughts on developing a strategy to fight the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he said.
Kumar is expected to be named convener of the united opposition front, after which he will launch his formal campaign against the BJP. In his speech, he will discuss the importance of forming a core committee composed of representatives from all parties.
The CM's advice will be to form the core committee, a powerful body charged with resolving any issues that may arise within the alliance. These decisions of this committee should be considered final, and in the event of a disagreement, its decision will be binding. He will also talk about fixing the name of the coordinator for the core committee, said CM's confidant.
Kumar will also call on the opposition parties to agree on a common candidate to defeat the BJP. Bengal CM Mamata has also stated that defeating the BJP was not a difficult task if there was a united front, he said.
He added that the Bihar chief minister will also encourage everyone to propose a formula for seat sharing. If there is an issue with seat sharing, it should be resolved by the core committee. Its decision should be final and binding so that conflicts can be avoided.
