New Delhi [India], June 8 : Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi and former West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, along with several other top INDIA bloc leaders, arrived at the Constitution Club in New Delhi for the alliance's meeting.
Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and Bihar Leader of Opposition Tejasvi Yadav also arrived for the meeting. Mamata Banerjee was accompanied by TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah, along with Left Front leaders John Brittas, Dipankar Bhattacharya and P Sandosh Kumar, are also participating in the meeting.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray will attend the meeting virtually.
DMK will not attend the meeting as Congress ended its long-standing partnership with the party after Congress joined hands with the Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). However, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) president Thol. Thirumavalavan arrived at the Constitution Club. Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) MP NK Premachandran will also attend the meeting.
Speaking to the media in New Delhi, KC Venugopal claimed that the BJP was afraid of the INDIA bloc meeting. "You (the media) understand how scared the BJP is of this meeting," he said.
Weighing on the posters criticising Rahul Gandhi put up at several roundabouts in Delhi, Venugopal said, "I don't see any posters."
The meeting is crucial for the opposition grouping not only due to the challenge posed by the growing political dominance of the BJP but also due to the differences within. This comes at a significant time following a major electoral loss in West Bengal.
Communist Party of India (CPI) General Secretary D Raja said that the Left will flag the statements by the Congress leadership against the Left Democratic Front (LDF) during the Keralam Assembly elections.
The CPI leader said, "One of the issues is that the national-level Congress leaders questioned the integrity of the Left during the Keralam elections, "the Left has an alliance with the BJP". Such things cannot be accepted; there has to be a mutual trust. In the absence of mutual respect and trust, how can we build a united movement? The INDIA bloc is a united front which was formed with a common resolve, 'Desh Bachao, BJP Hatao.' What are we doing to save the nation and defeat the BJP? We will discuss that," he added.
The CPI(M) has also conveyed its concern to Congress over the "systematic campaign" against its leadership during the Keralam Assembly polls, but the party has decided that MP John Brittas will attend the INDIA bloc meeting.
According to senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, 23 political parties will be in attendance at the meeting, which will take place at the Constitution Club in the national capital. Even amid a speculated rift, Ramesh maintained that the Opposition parties are "unified."