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Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will both participate in the second meeting of opposition parties on July 18 in Bengaluru, for which 24 parties have been invited, including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), sources said today.
Sonia Gandhi is likely to host a dinner for opposition leaders a day before the meeting, which has been called by the Congress as part of the ongoing attempts to put up a united fight against the BJP in the 2024 national election.
The first opposition meeting, featuring some 15 parties, took place in Bihar at the instance of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Reports suggest eight new parties are likely to join the meeting on Monday.
These include the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Kongu Desa Makkal Katchi (KDMK), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), All India Forward Bloc, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Kerala Congress (Joseph), and Kerala Congress (Mani).
The KDMK and MDMK were allies of the BJP for the 2014 election, after which Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who is Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, sent out invites to top opposition leaders and referred to the first meeting in Patna. “The meeting was a great success as we were able to discuss various important issues that threaten our democratic polity and came to a unanimous agreement on unitedly fighting the next General Elections,” Mr Kharge said in the letter.
“I believe that it is important to continue these discussions and build on the momentum that we have created. We need to work together to find solutions to the challenges that our country is facing,” he wrote.
RJD chief Lalu Yadav, who has been unwell, has said he will travel to Bengaluru for the meeting.
The first meeting was shadowed by a clash between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the Centre’s Delhi ordinance, with Arvind Kejriwal demanding a declaration of support from the Congress and threatening to skip the next meeting if it was not forthcoming.
Leaders like Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar intervened to stop any escalation as Mr Kejriwal confronted Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge.
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