Decks cleared for first joint Oppn meet in Patna on June 23; Kharge, Rahul to attend

“We had to defer the June 12 meeting because of the unavailability of several key Opposition leaders. We have now sought confirmation from all parties,” JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh told reporters.

Singh said that Kharge, Rahul, Banerjee, Stalin, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief and former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, NCP president Sharad Pawar, AAP supremo and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, CPI leader D Raja, CPM leader Sitaram Yechuri and CPI-ML leader Dipankar Bhattacharya have confirmed their participation for the event.

The JD(U) president, who is responsible for organising the meeting on behalf of Kumar, said the Opposition meeting held “great importance” at a time of an “undeclared emergency” in the country. “Those daring to criticise the Centre are being targeted…We want a BJP-mukt Bharat (BJP-free India) to reinstate democracy,” said Singh.

RJD leader and Deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav told the press conference, “It has been a combined attempt of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and RJD national president Lalu Prasad to bring together all like-minded parties on one platform. This unity is much needed as democracy has been under attack. Autocratic rule prevails. This is going to be an important meeting that would have a positive outcome”.

Asked if there had been any differences with the Congress over seat-sharing for the 2024 polls, Singh said: “There are no such talks at this stage. Our idea is to come together in a big way first.”

A senior JD (U) leader told The Indian Express: “We could not have taken chances as it is going to be the first meeting. We want the participation of all stakeholders at the meeting to put up a grand show of Opposition unity. It would set the tone for the next level of talks.”

The June 12 meeting was postponed after the Congress expressed its inability to send its top leaders to the conclave because of their prior commitments. On Monday, Kumar signalled that the parties that have agreed to attend the meeting must be represented by their respective heads.