As many as 32 opposition leaders, including six Chief Ministers, from national and regional parties huddled at Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s official residence in Patna to test the waters for an anti-BJP front for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The leaders walked into the 1, Aney Marg address at 11:30am to emphasise on building a common ground while avoiding the prickly leadership question as of now. The biggest roadblock to forging any electoral understanding is Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP’s demand that all parties protest the Centre’s ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi.
In the current Lok Sabha, the combined strength of these 15 parties accounts for less than 200 of the 543 seats, though their leaders are hopeful of together turning the tables on the saffron party which enjoys a brute majority with a 300 plus tally. The Congress, which is seen as the principal rival of BJP, had won just a little over 50 seats, which was a slight improvement over its performance in 2014 when it won only 44 – an all-time low.
Two of the parties at the meeting – the RJD and CPI(ML) Liberation had failed to win a single seat in the last Lok Sabha polls though both performed well in the Bihar assembly polls held a year later. With their alliance firmly intact, they hope to do well in the parliamentary elections too.
Among the other parties, only Trinamool Congress, DMK and JD(U) had secured double digit tallies. The Shiv Sena had won 18 seats but it remains unclear how many of the MPs remain with the faction headed by Uddhav Thackeray, who has joined opposition unity chorus.
Following is the complete list of opposition leaders who attended the Patna meeting:
JD(U) – Nitish Kumar, Lalan Singh
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has played the perfect organiser and host to the opposition gathering, mediating between parties and persuading leaders to attend, all of which has led to the speculation that the JD(U) leader is pitching himself as the leader of such a front against Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha elections next year.
JD(U) president Lalan Singh, who also attended the Opposition meeting, however, denied the speculation earlier this month. “Nitish Kumar is not a contender for the post of the Prime Minister. He has stepped up to build a BJP-free country and is working to unite the Opposition… When elections conclude and the country becomes BJP-free, all parties will sit together and decide who will be the leader of the country,” news agency ANI quoted Singh as saying on June 11.
Nitish Kumar — who had snapped ties with BJP about a year ago — recently caused a flutter with his prediction that the ruling BJP may call early general elections. “I may have spoken about early polls in jest but it is also a strong possibility. Those in power at the Centre may sense that there is a lot of movement in the opposition camp,” he said.
“A government at the Centre always has this option. Early polls took place in 2004, too, even though the then prime minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee was not in favour of the same… The current dispensation may feel that if our opposition unity bid gathers momentum, it would inflict bigger losses on them. So they could take recourse to early polls,” Kumar added.
Congress – Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal
For any such electoral understanding with other parties, the Congress first has to convince its state units to put on the backburner regional rivalries. Its Delhi and Punjab units are said to be opposed to any truck with the AAP, while the party is embroiled in tensions with the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and CPI(M) in Kerala.
Keeping cards close to its chest, the Congress has so far kept its stand ambiguous as to whether it would support the AAP when the Centre’s ordinance on the control of administrative services in the national capital is put to test in Parliament.
Asked about the ordinance issue and AAP’s ultimatum, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, before leaving for Patna on Friday morning, said his party would take a decision on it before Parliament’s Monsoon session and wondered why it was being talked about elsewhere when it was a matter that pertains to Parliament.
“Opposing or proposing it does not happen outside, it happens in Parliament. Before Parliament begins, all parties decide what issues they have to work on together. They know it and even their leaders come to our all-party meetings. I don’t know why is there so much publicity about it outside,” he said.
Accompanying Kharge to the meeting were senior leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on his first visit to Bihar since 2020 Assembly elections, and general secretary in charge of organisation KC Venugopal.
Ahead of the meeting, Rahul Gandhi told party workers that all Opposition parties are “unitedly” going to defeat the BJP in the 2024 general elections. “You know that hate cannot be countered with hate. It can be defeated only with love. The Congress is working to unite the country and spread love… That is why we have come to Bihar, because the DNA of the Congress is in Bihar.”
AAP – Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann, Raghav Chaddha, Sanjay Singh
The AAP has reportedly threatened to walk out of the meeting if the Congress does not promise its support against the Centre’s ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi.
Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal, who is attending the Patna meet with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and senior leaders Raghav Chaddha and Sanjay Singh, had expressed hope on Tuesday that the Congress would clear its stand on the Centre’s ordinance.
Ahead of the meeting, the AAP was also forced to distance itself from a poster in Patna calling Arvind Kejriwal “would be prime minister” and Nitish Kumar “confidant of Narendra Modi”. “This is a disgusting conspiracy against opposition unity,” said Bablu Kumar, spokesman of AAP’s Bihar unit.
Trinamool Congress – Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, Derek O’Brien, Firhad Hakim
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed confidence that opposition parties will fight “like a family” and take on the BJP “one to one”, but hasn’t addressed her reservations about the Congress’s alliance with the Left in her state.
“I cannot say what will happen at tomorrow’s meeting. But I am certain we are all here to fight the BJP together, like a family, one to one,” she told reporters on Wednesday.
The opposition meet comes amid tensions between the Congress and TMC. Congress’ leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury staged a dharna outside a block office in Bengal’s Murshidabad district demanding action against the activists of the ruling Trinamool Congress who allegedly attacked Congress workers in the run-up to the panchayat polls in the state.
RJD — Lalu Prasad Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Manoj Jha, Sanjay Jha
RJD leader and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav is Nitish Kumar’s co-host for the Opposition meeting. Sidestepping the Delhi Ordinance issue, Tejashwi Yadav earlier said: “This is not the first meeting of opposition leaders nor is it going to be the last. Leaders of different hues have agreed to meet and they will all raise issues that they feel strongly about. There is no problem with that”.
Backing Nitish Kumar’s speculation of early Lok Sabha elections, Yadav said: “You never know, it is possible… Everything is in the hands of the ruling dispensation at the Centre.”
Shiv Sena-UBT – Uddhav Thackeray, Aaditya Thackeray, Sanjay Raut
Ahead of the Opposition meeting, the Shiv Sena-UBT led by Uddhav Thackeray called on political parties to “show a big heart in national interest to instill confidence among voters”.
In an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana, the party said the AAP and K Chandrasekhar Roa-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which has skipped the meeting, have national ambitions, but this will only help Prime Minister Narendra Modi indirectly and support “dictatorship”.
The editorial said the BJP will attempt to break the opposition unity some way or the other. “The BJP will be defeated if there is a direct fight on 450 seats. Many states have shown that despite the tricks, Modi can be defeated… It will be wrong to say that those opposing the BJP are meeting in Patna, but it is appropriate to say that patriotic parties are coming together to save the Constitution and democracy in the country,” it said.
NCP – Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, Praful Patel
Sharad Pawar, one of the tallest Opposition leaders, is attending the Patna meet at a time of uncertainty in his own party. Days after he entrusted the responsibility of Maharashtra to his daughter and MP Supriya Sule by appointing her as a working president, his nephew Ajit Pawar asked to be relieved as Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and sought “any role” in the party organisation.
Ajit Pawar had also batted against any electoral tie-ups 1just two days before the Patna meet, saying Sharad Pawar is a bigger leader than Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and others.
“If (West Bengal chief minister) Mamata Banerjee, (Delhi CM) Arvind Kejriwal, (AP CM) Jagan Mohan Reddy, N Chandrababu Naidu (of TDP), K Chandrasekhar Rao and Nitish Kumar can win their respective states on their own… Sharad Pawar is a bigger leader than all of them. Why cannot NCP work towards this goal (to win Maharashtra on its strength),” he asked.
Sharad Pawar, meanwhile, said on Friday morning that important issues, including the current situation in violence-hit Manipur, will be discussed at the Oppositon meeting.
Samajwadi Party – Akhilesh Yadav
The Samajwadi Party is the only party from Uttar Pradesh attending the meeting with BSP supremo Mayawati not being invited and Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary skipping the conclave due to a family programme. Uttar Pradesh sends the maximum number of 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha.
DMK – MK Stalin, TR Baalu
The DMK already has an alliance with the Congress, CPI(M), the CPI and some other smaller Left parties.
“No surprises that the war cry of a united opposition is from here, the land of social justice, to end this fascist, autocratic regime and allow the rebirth of a secular, democratic India”, tweeted Stalin with the hashtag #UnitingIndia2024 after landing at the Patna airport where he was received by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav.
CPI(M) – Sitaram Yechury
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury was among the first leaders to confirm efforts towards an anti-BJP coalition, saying: “Efforts for opposition unity have picked up the pace. An opposition coalition will be formed and seat adjustments will be done at the state level.”
After meeting Nitish Kumar in April, he had, however, said the “third front” will always be after the elections. “But in India, fronts are formed post polls such as United Front in 1996, in 1998 NDA was formed after elections, UPA formed post polls in 2004,” Yechury had said.
In Kerala, the ruling CPM and opposition Congress are rivals. The parties locked horns this week over the fake certificate issue in the state, with the latter on Thursday accusing the Left front of protecting those involved in illegal activities.
CPI – D Raja
CPI general secretary D Raja has hailed the Patna huddle of Opposition leaders as a step forward “in the right direction”. “This meeting is being held immediately after the Karnataka elections. Several state elections are coming up and the Lok Sabha polls are due in 2024. This (the meeting) will give clarity,” Raja told news agency PTI.
“When elections take place, the electoral strategy and seat-sharing will be discussed at the state level. It will be based on the balance of political forces. There, I think, the secular democratic parties must be more reasonable and mutually accommodating,” the CPI leader said.
National Conference – Omar Abdullah
“Our role is limited in this as at best we can win six seats — three from Kashmir, two from Jammu and one from Ladakh. The unity first should be among those who have 40 to 50 seats. What is the point of having expectations from us? Let them forge unity first. Often we have seen that the parties with 50, 100-200 seats are not able to unite but we are expected to do it,” Abdullah told reporters on June 13.
The National Conference was represented at the Opposition meeting by former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah on Friday. He had previously exhorted “bigger opposition parties” to show the way in opposition unity.
PDP – Mehbooba Mufti
“The attack on secularism and democracy started from Kashmir. Democracy is being undermined in the current scenario. We will not let the nation of Gandhi become the country of Godse,” Mufti said after the meeting on Friday.
The former J&K CM had in March this year urged opposition parties to unite and give a formidable fight to the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but had expressed doubts about such an alliance coming into existence.
“Unless and until opposition parties don’t come together, I don’t think there is going to be a formidable opposition to the BJP. (But), are they in a position to come together with this ED, NIA and other agencies at their throat?” she had said.
JMM leader and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren also attended the meeting as did CPIML leader Dipankar Bhattacharya.
With PTI inputs
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