Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar arrived in Bengaluru to participate in the second day of the opposition meeting. The meeting, which saw 26 like-minded parties come together with a common goal of challenging the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, took place over two days. Pawar had skipped the first day of the meeting.
Pawar’s arrival in Bengaluru comes after a recent split within the NCP, with his nephew Ajit Pawar joining the NDA government in Maharashtra along with eight other MLAs. Sharad Pawar has taken action against these MLAs.
In addition to the opposition meeting, the Bharatiya Janata Party also held a meeting in Delhi, which included 38 parties of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The meeting in Bengaluru began with a dinner hosted by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for the opposition leaders. Congress leader BK Hariprasad expressed optimism, stating that the meeting signaled the end of the BJP in 2024.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav expressed hope that the Indian people would deliver a massive defeat to the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The opposition meeting aimed to appoint a convenor and form groups to address various issues, as well as establish a common minimum program. The sources revealed that the Congress is interested in having the chairperson from their party, but is willing to go along with the combined decision of the opposition parties. Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s name has been proposed for the position. She is attending the two-day opposition meeting, and is not in contention for the position of Prime Minister.
It is important for the opposition parties to focus on issues rather than making the 2024 Lok Sabha polls a battle between a leader vs Modi. The goal is to make it a Modi vs people battle.
