KC Venugopal (right) will meet Uddhav Thackeray at 8.30 pm. (Twitter)
A top source told CNN-News18, “Venugopal will invite Uddhav Thackeray for a national meeting of all party chiefs, which is to be organized by the Congress in Delhi.”
All India Congress Committee General Secretary KC Venugopal will visit Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray’s residence Matoshree at around 8.30 pm on Monday with the aim of forging national unity of opposition parties for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
For the Congress, it is an important step towards bringing together regional allies, who are not part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
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For the Shiv Sena, it is significant optics that a senior leader visits Matoshree, the residence of which has seen several top leaders from LK Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Amit Shah as guests.
In the backdrop of recent differences between the alliance partners on several key issues, including that of Veer Savarkar, the meeting assumes significance.
A top source told CNN-News18, “Venugopal will invite Uddhav Thackeray for the national meeting of all party chiefs, which is to be organized by the Congress in Delhi.”
Venugopal will discuss many issues with Thackeray. “After this meeting, several major issues will be discussed in Delhi. The issues to be raised in the Parliament, common grounds and common programs will be discussed. Differences will be discussed. We will talk about holding joint rallies and press conferences, said a senior leader.
Meeting Rahul?
no official word on this Rahul Gandhi After this Uddhav will meet Thackeray.
Sources said this meeting has nothing to do with those plans, if any. The Shiv Sena (UBT) had claimed a few days back that Gandhi would meet Thackeray soon.
“This is a part of a national exercise that the Congress has been conducting. We are coordinating with 17-18 parties. In the last few days of this session, the party has approached several regional players. Hence Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav and Sharad Pawar visited,” said a senior Congress leader.
He said the party would also approach regional players who are not officially part of the UPA, but who are regionally in alliance with the Congress. Even at the regional level, he said, those parties which are not officially in the UPA but are in opposition to the BJP are also being monitored. A senior leader said, we will approach them too.
Next meeting in Delhi
After this outreach of Venugopal, there will be a meeting with opposition leaders in Delhi.
Shiv Sena sources said that Thackeray is unlikely to attend the meeting in Delhi.
He said, ‘Shiv Sena undoubtedly wants to be a part of the opposition unity. But our senior leaders, who are our MPs, are likely to attend that meeting,” said a senior leader.
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