As the opposition meeting got underway in Patna on Friday, Janta Dal (United) released a poster which depicts the opposition parties unity. In the poster released by the party, Nitish Kumar is at the centre while TMC's Mamata Banerjee, Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, SP's Akhilesh Yadav, NCP's Sharad Pawar among others could be seen. JD(U), with the poster, wrote the caption on their twitter handle: "Dalon ka nahin, bhartiyon dilon ka Mahagathbandhan" [Not just a meeting of like-minded parties but meeting of parties (Mahagathbandhan) which captures the hearts of common Indian].
Top leaders of opposition parties are convening in Patna to lay the groundwork for the formation of an anti-BJP front ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
ALSO ON ABP LIVE | LS Polls 2024: Opposition Unity Matters Only On 150-Odd Tricky Seats. Elsewhere, It's Already There Or Not Possible
Quoting sources news agency PTI reported, the opposition parties aim to focus on building common ground while avoiding sensitive issues regarding leadership at this stage. The meeting is being attended by leaders from 15 parties, including several chief ministers.
Among the prominent attendees are Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena-United Bharatiya Janata Party (Shiv Sena-UBT), and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar.
The meeting is being hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal-United (JDU) and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) at the chief minister's residence in Patna's Aney Marg.
READ | 'Thank Congress For Announcing They Can't Defeat Modi Alone': Smriti Irani On Oppn Meet
The meeting is seen as the starting point for opposition parties to unite and challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, PTI reported.
"This is just the beginning. The meeting of minds is crucial. At this stage, the strategy, leadership question, and seat-sharing are unlikely to be discussed," revealed a senior opposition leader, speaking on condition of anonymity to PTI.
The leader further stated that the opposition's shared concerns, which will be raised to counter the BJP, will top the agenda. In this context, discussions are expected to include the recent violence in Manipur and the alleged failures of the central government in addressing the situation.