Janjivan Bureau / New Delhi : Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party are not at a meeting of opposition leaders that began in the capital a short while ago, soon after Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother and chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Sonia Gandhi arrived. But West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress is attending as is her Delhi counterpart and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal. The much-anticipated Opposition meeting to discuss 2019 Lok Sabha election strategy is under way at the Parliamentary House annexe in the National Capital with top Opposition veterans attending.
At the time of writing this report, 10 Opposition parties had sent their representatives to the meeting being facilitated by N Chandrababu Naidu, TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh CM.
Chandrababu Naidu made a PowerPoint at the meeting flagging various issues. Stating that Modi is the first PM of democratic India to not hold a single press conference in the four years of his rule, he cited “PM’s governance failures on every front from jobs and MSP to Rafale deal and farmers’ insurance policy”.
He accused the PM of promoting Gujarat-cadre officers in plum central government posts.
Naidu also flagged the issue of institutional crisis under the BJP-led NDA government talking of the ongoing standoff between the Centre and RBI, besties flagging gaps on MSP, rising fuel prices and inflation.
BSP Chief Mayawati is unlikely to attend, though the Congress strategists said SP would be represented.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi and ex-chief Sonia Gandhi are also expected to arrive soon to attend the meeting in a show of Opposition strength on the eve of results of five state elections tomorrow and also the start of the Winter Session of Parliament.
So far, the following leaders have come for the meeting: TDP’s Naidu; Congress’ Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot; TMC chief Mamata Banerjee; AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal; NCP’s Sharad Pawar; NC’s Farooq Abdullah; DMK’s MK Stalin and M Kanimozhi; AIUDF’s Badruddin Ajmal; RJD’s Tejaswi Yadav; CPM’a Sitaram Yechury; CPI’s D Raja; and former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi.
Upendra Kushwaha, who resigned from the council of ministers today, didn’t attend the meeting.
The meeting will start shortly, with Congress leaders hopeful of Mayawati changing her mind about joining the Opposition camp after the result of state elections tomorrow.
The Congress has predicted five-zero in its favour in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, MP, Telangana and Mizoram.
