Opposition leaders from across India are set to gather in Patna for a crucial meeting on Friday to unite and counter the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The meeting was initiated by the Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, with the aim of forging national-level unity among the opposition parties to defeat the BJP in the upcoming elections.
Prominent leaders attending the meeting include Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, K C Venugopal from the Congress; Mamata Banerjee from the Trinamool Congress; Arvind Kejriwal from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP); Bhagwant Mann and Sanjay Singh from the AAP; Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and National Conference, respectively; Sharad Pawar from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP); M K Stalin from Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK); D Raja from the Communist Party of India (CPI); Sitaram Yechury from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)); and Deepankar Bhattacharya from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI(ML)).
Banerjee expressed her hopes for the meeting to agree to field one united opposition candidate against the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Despite citing the discussion of ways to effectively fight against the BJP in the polls, she refused to provide details, stating that she would speak to media after the meeting on Friday.
During the meeting, the opposition leaders aim to find ways to achieve their goal of contesting one-on-one against the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. The meeting comes as the opposition focuses on Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and other states, where the BJP and its allies have largely dominated the political landscape.
Overall, the meeting demonstrates the opposition’s efforts to unite and form a cohesive strategy against the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. It remains to be seen whether they will succeed in their aim of fielding one united opposition candidate against the BJP or if rivalries and disagreements will prevent them from achieving their goal.
