Bengaluru Opposition Meeting: Like-minded parties, including the Congress, will hold their second meeting in Bengaluru from today for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. According to Congress, a total of 25 parties have the support for the two-day meeting of the second opposition unity to be held in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Leaders of at least 26 opposition parties will converge at a hotel in Bengaluru on July 17-18 as part of their efforts to present a united front against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre, according to news agency ANI.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has been appointed in-charge to oversee all preparations for the meeting. Party sources said that arrangements have been made for all the opposition leaders to stay in a five-star hotel in the city.
Bengaluru Opposition Meeting Live Updates…
- Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray faction leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said that this meeting is not a meeting of opposition but a meeting of major political parties who want to take the country forward against the dictatorship that is going on in this country. The seat distribution will be discussed in the meeting, what will be the name of the front that will be formed. Pawar saheb will not come today but he will attend the meeting tomorrow morning.
#WATCH This meeting is not a meeting of the opposition but a meeting of major political parties who want to take the country forward against the dictatorship that is going on in this country. The seat distribution will be discussed in the meeting, what will be the name of the front that will be formed. Pawar saheb will not come today but tomorrow… pic.twitter.com/og3gUYssee
— ANI_HindiNews (@AHindinews) July 17, 2023
- Congress leader Rahul Gandhi leaves for Bengaluru from 10 Janpath in Delhi. Rahul Gandhi will attend the two-day joint opposition meeting in Bengaluru.
#WATCH | Congress leader Rahul Gandhi leaves from 10 Janpath in Delhi.
The two-day joint Opposition meeting in Bengaluru will begin today. pic.twitter.com/iFS2uiNNXr
— ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2023
- Karnataka Minister and Congress leader Priyank Kharge said that we all have come together with a certain ideology and we have come together to preserve the idea of India and the Constitution. If BJP has a problem with our unity, it means that they are afraid that they will be thrown out of power. You can see how the magic of BJP and PM Modi is waning. His policies are harming India.
#WATCH | On AAP’s participation in the joint opposition meeting in Bengaluru, Karnataka Minister & Congress leader Priyank Kharge says, “We are very clear on what is happening in Delhi. The Ordinance route that they (the Centre) have taken to take away the powers of the State… pic.twitter.com/kMXgivXtD0
— ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2023
- JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy on joint opposition meeting in Bengaluru: Opposition never considered JD(S) as its part. Therefore, there is no question of JD(S) being a party of any grand alliance. On any invitation from NDA, he said that NDA has not invited our party for any meeting. We’ll see on that front.
On joint Opposition meeting in Bengaluru, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy says, “Opposition never considered JD(S) a part of them. So, there is no question of JD(S) being a party of any Mahagathbandhan.”
On any invitation from NDA, he says, “NDA has not invited our party for any… pic.twitter.com/hPoH2ClgDw
— ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2023
Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule will attend the meeting tomorrow
According to NCP spokesperson Mahesh Taapsee, party chief Sharad Pawar will not attend the joint opposition meeting in Bengaluru today (July 17). He tweeted that Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule will attend the opposition meeting tomorrow, 18 July.
NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase tweets, “Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule will participate in the Opposition meeting tomorrow, 18th July…” pic.twitter.com/TmbCxehQly
— ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2023
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and KC Venugopal will hold a press conference
According to the tentative schedule, Congress general secretary in-charge of communication Jairam Ramesh and Congress general secretary KC Venugopal will hold a joint press conference at 11 am on Monday. At the same time, all the opposition leaders will start arriving for the meeting in the afternoon.
An informal meeting has been held at 6 pm followed by dinner at 8 pm. On July 18, the meeting will start at 11 am and will continue till 4 pm. This will be followed by a press conference in which the campaign strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections may be announced. According to sources, the name of the opposition alliance will be decided in the Bengaluru meeting and the common minimum program will be discussed.
Besides this, several committees are expected to be formed which will hold meetings to deliberate on various problems that may arise in the alliance. He said that various groups and sub-groups can also be formed.
There can be discussion on fielding a common candidate on 80 percent Lok Sabha seats
Sources said there could also be discussions on how to put up a common opposition candidate against the BJP in at least 80 per cent of the Lok Sabha seats, how to forge alliances in states and how to distribute tickets in key constituencies.
It is being said that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will also be discussed in the meeting. All the big leaders of the opposition, including former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, are expected to attend the important opposition meeting in Bengaluru.
AAP will also participate in the meeting of opposition parties
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also confirmed its presence in the meeting on Sunday. This came after the Congress made its stand clear and said it would oppose the Centre’s ordinance on administrative services in Delhi if a bill is brought in Parliament to replace the ordinance.
Earlier, during the opposition meeting in Bihar’s Patna on June 23, a rift was seen between the AAP and the Congress after the Congress delayed its stand on the Centre’s ordinance.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is also going to attend the opposition meeting despite a leg injury following the call of former Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Earlier 16 opposition parties were invited to the Patna meeting and 15 of them attended the meeting.
These parties were involved in the first meeting held in Bihar
Apart from Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), Janata Dal (United) (JDU), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Indian Communist Party (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Samajwadi Party, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation (CPIML), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), General The Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal were included in the list of invitees for the Patna meeting. Rashtriya Lok Dal party chief Jayant Chowdhary, who had earlier distanced himself from the Patna meeting, is scheduled to attend the second meeting in Bengaluru today.
Apart from these, Congress has invited 10 new parties to the second opposition meeting in Bengaluru to increase its strength over the NDA. These include Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Kongu Desa Makkal Katchi (KDMK), Forward Bloc, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Kerala Congress (Joseph), Kerala Congress (Mani), Apna Dal (Kamerwadi) and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) of Tamil Nadu.
Sources said, “The Congress, the main host of this two-day meeting, is trying to make it even grander than the meeting called by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna on June 13.”
