Congress upsurge mars Opposition unity plank
Photo credit AAP Rajasthan
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, June 22: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will host the Opposition leaders on Friday in Patna as a mark of show of unity and intent for common agenda. But the signs are visible that the history may repeat to derail the ambitious task to force a one-on-one fight against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal may possibly not be sharing dais with the Opposition leaders. The Congress has not yet decided on taking a stand on the issue of opposing the Delhi Ordinance, which takes away the administrative command from the city government in the national capital.
To depeen the chasm in the Opposition camp, Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has indicated that the party will contest the upcoming Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. The AAP had taken a large chunk of the Congress vote base in Gujarat, which had helped the BJP to register a massive victory in the state.
“No one will miss Kejriwal in the Patna meeting of the Opposition parties,” Sandeep Dikshit, the congress leader, told reporters on Thursday. The Delhi and Punjab unit of the Congress leaders had been vociferous in their demands with the party high command to not support the AAP on the Delhi Ordinance.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati too made it clear that both the Congress and the BJP are foes in equal measures for her party. “The BJP and Congress are roadblocks in the path for the upliftment of the downtrodden,” tweeted Mayawati. Her arch rival the Samajwadi Party will be taking part in the Opposition meeting.
For both the AAP and the BSP, the Congress remains the impediment in joining the Opposition unity camp, which is being promoted by the Bihar chief minister and the Nationalist Congress Party strongman Sharad Pawar.
The Opposition unity meeting in Patna is likely to be a head count of who all attended the event, while chances of any concrete understanding on the roadmap for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are stated to be limited. Pawar has spoken of the need for the Opposition parties to agree on a common minimum programme ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The DMK had given the template of social justice for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“The Congress has to decide whether the party needs to work on its revival or join hands with the Opposition parties for a one-on-one fight against the BJP,” said a enior JD (U) functionary.
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