Top oppn leaders to attend swearing-in of Ashok Gehlot, Kamal Nath, Bhupesh Baghel

A host of opposition leaders are expected to attend the swearing-in of Ashok Gehlot, Kamal Nath and Bhupesh Baghel as chief ministers of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh respectively, on Monday.

Opposition leaders at HD Kumaraswamy's swearing in. PTI

NEW DELHI: A host of opposition leaders are expected to attend the swearing-in of Ashok Gehlot, Kamal Nath and Bhupesh Baghel as chief ministers of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh respectively, on Monday. While Congress president Rahul Gandhi will be attending all the three oath-taking ceremonies, other prominent opposition leaders likely to attend the events include former prime minister H D Devegowda and Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah. While Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu will be attending the events along with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, other leaders invited include AIUDF leader Badruddin Ajmal, TMC leader Dinesh Trivedi and LJD leader Sharad Yadav. Sources said the Congress has also invited the Aam Aadmi Party and its leader Sanjay Singh is likely to attend the events. Among other opposition leaders who have been invited and are likely to attend the ceremonies include JMM's Hemant Soren, Jharkhand Vikas Manch leader Babulal Marandi, Swabhimani Paksh leader Raju Shetty and former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi. Ashok Gehlot would be sworn is as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan in Jaipur around 10 am, followed by Kamal Nath as CM of Madhya Pradesh in Bhopal around 1 pm and Bhupesh Baghel as Chhattisgarh chief minister around 5 pm in Raipur. The Congress is considering bringing all opposition parties on a single platform during the swearing-in ceremonies in three states. Last time, it was during the oath-taking ceremony of Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy in May this year that opposition leaders came together against the BJP. Now, the Congress is mulling a similar show of strength by a galaxy of national leaders and regional satraps to send a strong signal to the Modi government ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections early next year. The Congress on December 11 recorded its best-ever performance against the BJP since the disastrous 2014 Lok Sabha polls capturing power in the three Hindi heartland states and reviving its hopes in the next general elections. In a shock result, a resurgent Congress ended Chief Minister Raman Singh's uninterrupted 15-year rule in Chhattisgarh and regained power in Rajasthan, where the BJP won all the 25 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. It also became the single largest party in Madhya Pradesh by winning 114 seats, two short of a simple majority, and gained the support of the SP, the BSP and independent candidates. (With inputs from PTI)