West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee He is in Delhi for a crucial meeting of non-BJP parties to come up with a consensus to field a joint candidate against the NDA in the presidential election to be held on July 18.
Mamata Banerjee recently wrote to 22 opposition parties inviting them to be part of a platform against “divisive forces”.
Along with Congress, NCP, SP, RJD, NC, AAP, CPM, CPI, JMM, Shiv Sena, IUML, PDP, JDS, RLD are likely to attend the meeting, while Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) And Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) are among those who have decided to walk out of the meeting.
It is learned that senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh and Randeep Singh Surjewala will represent the Congress in the meeting called by the Trinamool Congress leader.
Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee and leaders of the two Left parties met NCP chief Sharad Pawar separately at his residence and tried to persuade him to be the common opposition candidate for the top constitutional post. The Maratha strongman, who has friends across the deeply divided political spectrum, however, turned down the offerSources in the opposition camp said.
Track latest updates on Mamata Banerjee’s opposition meeting:
Mamata Banerjee in Delhi for opposition meeting
The West Bengal Chief Minister is in the national capital for a meeting called on Wednesday to explore the possibility of formulating a common strategy with other opposition parties for the presidential election, where the BJP-led NDA has its own strength in Parliament. Given that there is an unmistakable edge. and State and Union Territory Legislatures. However, the anti-TMC Left parties in West Bengal have strongly criticized Banerjee’s decision.
Sharad Pawar pulls out of presidential race
Although the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) appears to be one of the likely candidates for the major presidential election, the veteran leader, Mamta Banerjee’s offer turned down He said that he wants to continue in active politics.
Pawar, who has good personal equations with Narendra Modi Despite the Prime Minister’s public criticism on political issues, the United Opposition declined the offer to be the candidate.
Read also: Sharad Pawar out of presidential race? NCP says it will not ‘confine itself to Rashtrapati Bhavan’
Pawar met CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary D Raja and NCP leaders Praful Patel and PC Chacko earlier in the day and apprised them of his decision not to contest the polls.
TMC upset with Mamata Banerjee’s ‘unilateral’ decision
Upset over TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee’s “unilateral” decision to call a meeting to discuss a joint presidential candidate, the CPI(M) and CPI on Tuesday said they would send their MPs to the opposition meeting to be held in Delhi on Wednesday. , CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI general secretary D Raja said the top leadership would not attend the meeting called by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief.
The CPI(M) will be represented in the meeting by the party’s leader in Rajya Sabha Elamaram Karim. Yechury has also written a letter to Banerjee stating that such meetings of opposition parties always follow the process of prior mutual consultation so that maximum participation of those willing to attend it can be achieved. “However, in this instance, we received a one-way communication detailing the date, time, venue and agenda. Your letter mentions that ‘a useful confluence of opposition voices is the need of the hour’. This could have been achieved better if there had been an appropriate time for mutual consultation and enabling the party leaders to re-schedule their prior commitments to attend such a meeting. “Unfortunately, there were only three days between the receipt of your letter and the date of the meeting,” Yechury said.
Congress will attend the meeting of the opposition
Congress has decided to send its representatives despite its objection to Banerjee calling the meeting unilaterally. Congress sources said Leaders of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh and Randeep Surjewala are likely to attend the meeting.
Congress, despite its decline after a string of electoral defeats, maintains its Opposition parties dominated because of its pan India Presence. It was also the first from the bloc to explore the possibility of fielding a joint opposition candidate for the presidential election. soon afterward Election After the commission announced the election schedule, Congress President Sonia Gandhi had nominated Kharge as an interlocutor to involve other opposition parties in the discussion.
With the numbers in its favor – the ruling NDA has almost half the vote of the electoral college – and with the likely support of fence-sitters such as the BJD, AIADMK and YSRCP, its candidate will likely be through a contest.
BJD, TRS will not attend the opposition meeting today
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) led by CM K Chandrasekhar Rao are unlikely to attend the opposition meeting on Tuesday.
While the BJD said Naveen Patnaik “will take the right decision at the right time in the interest of the state”, the TRS is said to have taken the decision of skipping the meeting after its chief president K Chandrashekhar Rao held a long consultation with senior party leaders. took. on Tuesday night.
Sources said the decision to abstain from the meeting was based on four reasons. One, TRS had already made its stand clear to maintain equal distance from BJP and Congress, Hindu informed of. Mamata Banerjee was allegedly given an invitation to K Chandrashekhar Rao two days ago, sources said, adding that the TMC supremo has still decided to invite the Congress to the discontent of the TRS.
The report quoted sources as saying that it was not right on Banerjee’s part to invite the Congress even after the TRS raised objections to the party.
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