Opposition leaders to meet today, chart out strategy for 2019 Lok Sabha polls

Sonia Gandhi invites Opposition for dinner

Leaders of major Opposition parties are slated to meet at Parliament House Annex in New Delhi on December 10 to discuss forging a ‘Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance)’ to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The meeting comes a day ahead of the assembly poll results in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Telangana and is seen as a major boost for opposition unity in the run-up to the general elections in April-May 2019.

The parties are also expected to chart a joint strategy for the Winter Session of Parliament which will begin on December 11.

Talks of a possible alliance have been on since Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s swearing-in ceremony in May. The ceremony had seen the participation of leaders across the political spectrum.

Who is likely to attend?
Congress President Rahul Gandhi and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi are likely to attend the meeting being coordinated by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu.

Naidu’s TDP, which was formed to break Congress’ hegemony in Andhra Pradesh, had tied up with Rahul Gandhi-led party for the recent Telangana Assembly polls.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee, National Conference (NC) chief Farooq Abdullah, Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and Communist Party of India (CPI) General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy also likely to attend.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President MK Stalin, Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav and Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) leader Sharad Yadav are expected to attend the meeting.

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal is expected to attend the meet. This is the first time AAP will participate in a ‘grand alliance’ discussion. In November, the farmers' protest in the national capital had brought Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi on the same stage for the first time.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati is unlikely to participate in the discussion. However, she is expected to be represented by her close aide Satish Chandra Mishra, according to a PTI report.

Besides leaders of key political parties, chief ministers belonging to opposition parties from Kerala, Punjab and Puducherry were also invited to the meeting. It is unclear if they would attend.

Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik and Telangana caretaker Chief Minister and Telugu Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K Chandrashekar Rao are unlikely to attend the meeting.

BJP’s reactionThe saffron party’s National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on December 9 mocked the meeting saying that the Opposition leaders should first declare a prime ministerial candidate before thinking of ousting the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.

"It's really good to see opposition parties trying to forge an alliance to fight against us. But, first let them declare their prime ministerial candidate, then they should dream of fighting against us and ousting us," Vijayvargiya said.

(With inputs from PTI)