On Wednesday, the West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress Supremo Mamata Banerjee is conducting a big opposition meeting in Delhi’s Constitution Club ahead of the Presidential Elections 2022. The meeting has been called by Banerjee to decide on a consensus candidate for the upcoming elections.
According to the reports, political parties including Sharad Pawar’s NCP, Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD, Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference (NC), Hemant Soren-led JMM, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, IUML, PDP, JDS, and RLD will be attending the meeting on June 15.
Pawar, Gowda among leaders to attend opposition meeting called by Mamata Banerjee on presidential polls
— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) June 14, 2022
Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/vnFkTGayUQ#MamataBanerjee #PresidentialPolls #OppositionMeeting pic.twitter.com/ZSpmQqIesp
However, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s party, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) has refused to join the discussion objecting to Congress as one of the invitees to the meeting. The party also objected to Rahul Gandhi’s recent criticism of Rao. Gandhi on May 6 had said that Rao had single-handedly destroyed the dreams of Telangana’s people and that he was not CM but a ‘king’ who does not listen to the people.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to not participate in the Opposition parties’ meet called by West Bengal CM & TMC chief Mamata Banerjee in Delhi: CMO Sources
— ANI (@ANI) June 15, 2022
Reportedly, Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party, Akali Dal, and Navin Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal have also decided to not be part of this meeting. Also, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has distanced himself from the meeting. Banerjee had not invited the leader and his party in the first place, but Owaisi on June 15 said that even if he was invited he would have chosen to not attend the meeting due to Congress. “I’ve not been invited. Even if I were invited, I would not have participated. The reason is Congress”, he said.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to not attend the Opposition parties’ meet called by West Bengal CM & TMC chief Mamata Banerjee in Delhi, today. AAP will consider the issue only after the candidate for the upcoming Presidential election is declared: Sources
— ANI (@ANI) June 15, 2022
Congress, forgetting the recent differences with the TMC, will be attending the meeting as it unitedly wants to fight against the BJP. “All opposition parties want to bring a common candidate and Sonia Gandhi had asked Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee, DMK, and others to stand in unity. We will fight together and decide on who will go and how to go”, said Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge.
Delhi | All opposition parties want to bring a common candidate and Sonia Gandhi had asked Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee, DMK, and others to bring out unity, we will fight together and will decide on who will go and how to go: Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge (15.06) pic.twitter.com/rjR0IatAIG
— ANI (@ANI) June 15, 2022
According to the reports, the leaders who are likely to attend the meeting include HD Deve Gowda and his son and Janata Dal’s HD Kumarswamy, RLD’s Jayant Chaudhary, PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti, Shiv Sena’s Subhash Desai, Congress’s Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh and Randeep Singh Surjewala. Also, the CPI(M) and the CPI stated that they will send their MPs to the opposition meeting.
It is important to note that, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, on June 14 met NCP chief Sharad Pawar at his residence. She tried to convince him to be the common opposition candidate for the top constitutional post but Pawar, according to reports, turned down the proposal. The Presidential Elections to elect the successor to President Ram Nath Kovind are scheduled to take place on July 18. The counting of votes will take place on July 21.
