Mamata, Left leaders meet Pawar: NCP chief unlikely to contest, set to attend Opp meet today

Sources in the Trinamool Congress said Congress, Samajwadi Party, RJD, CPI(M), CPI, NCP, Shiv Sena and the DMK have so far confirmed that their leaders will participate in Wednesday’s meeting. The Aam Aadmi Parrty (AAP), however, has not yet made up its mind.

A section of AAP leadership believes the party should stand together with the larger Opposition to mount a strong resistance against BJP, while another section feels the party will dilute its character by doing so.

“Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee shared a good rapport in the past but now both are eyeing a national role on the back of electoral successes. But there is no rancour either, so the party remains in a fix,” an AAP leader said.

While details of the Pawar-Banerjee meeting did not emerge, Left leaders said Pawar told them that he was not inclined to contest the elections as the joint opposition nominee. “Ms. Mamata Banerjee called upon me at my residence in Delhi today. We had a detailed discussion on various issues related to our country,” Pawar tweeted.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and his CPI counterpart D Raja also met Pawar. The NCP veteran told them that he will attend Wednesday’s meeting, convened by Banerjee at the Constitution Club, as unity of secular democratic parties and forces is important, considering the present political situation in the country.

“He told us that he is not keen to contest. He will say that openly in tomorrow’s meeting. We have to explore possibilities of other candidates,” Raja told The Indian Express.

The Left parties and the Congress will attend the meeting.

The DMK has deputed its Lok Sabha leader T R Baalu to attend the meeting. The Left leaders are expected to meet Baalu later in the day.

Sources in the Congress said Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh Randeep Surjewala are likely to attend the meeting on behalf of the party. Both Congress and the Left are not impressed with what they call Banerjee’s “unilateral” initiative of convening the meeting, but sources in these parties told The Indian Express on Monday that they will attend the meeting to avoid giving out any signal of a division in the Opposition camp.