Leaders of 24 Opposition parties have been invited for a second meeting in Bengaluru next week to formulate a strategy to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Together, these 24 Opposition parties have around 150 Lok Sabha members and hope to expand their footprints.
The first Opposition meeting held on June 23 in Patna was attended by leaders of 15 parties.
The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Kongu Desa Makkal Katchi, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Revolutionary Socialist Party, All India Forward Bloc, Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala Congress (Joseph) and Kerala Congress (Mani) are the new parties that will join the second meeting in Bengaluru on July 17, PTI news agency reported.
Veteran Congress leader Sonia Gandhi will participate in the meeting.
At Bengaluru’s meeting, the non-BJP parties may discuss a name for the Opposition front and details of seat-sharing.
According to a invitation letter from Kharge, there will be a dinner on July 17, followed by a formal structured meeting on July 18.
However, the Aam Aadmi Party has said that it will decide on attending the meeting only after the Congress makes its stand clear on the Union government’s ordinance that wrested control of administrative services from the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government.
After the first meeting, the AAP had declared that unless the Congress publicly opposes the ordinance it would be “very difficult” for it to be a part of any alliance that includes the grand old party.
