'Well Begun Is Half Done': Kharge On Day-1 Of Opposition Meeting In B'luru Ahead Of Mega Session

On Monday, all the Opposition party leaders gathered for a dinner meeting at Bengaluru's Taj West End Hotel ahead of the key meeting that would take place on Tuesday.

Opposition dinner meeting in Bengaluru

Source : Twitter/@kharge

Opposition parties held the dinner meeting in Bengaluru on Monday ahead of the mega session scheduled to take place on Tuesday. "Well begun is half done," said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said as the dinner meeting was underway. Leaders of 26 Opposition parties arrived in Karnataka's Bengaluru on Monday for brainstorming session to build a front against Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. "Like-minded opposition parties shall closely work together to foster an agenda of social justice, inclusive development and national welfare," Kharge said in his tweet.

On Monday, all the Opposition party leaders gathered for a dinner meeting at Bengaluru's Taj West End Hotel ahead of the key meeting that would take place tomorrow. 

"The main meeting is tomorrow. We will brief you tomorrow, let the formal meeting take place," said Congress leader Pawan Khera after the Monday dinner meeting. 

"The meeting started with a good signal and it would be the end of BJP in 2024," said Congress leader BK Hariprasad.

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee, who were seated next to each other, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, chief ministers M K Stalin, Nitish Kumar, Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren and RJD chief Lalu Prasad were among those who attended the dinner meeting where discussions were held to finalise the agenda for the formal talks starting Tuesday morning.

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar skipped the Monday meeting and would arrive on Tuesday along with daughter Supriya Sule. 

The leaders sat in front of a huge banner with "United We Stand" slogan, which was also put on posters that dotted the streets of Bengaluru with pictures of opposition leaders.

Among others at the meeting hosted by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah were Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav (RJD), Akhilesh Yadav (SP), Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena-UBT), Farooq Abdullah (NC) and Mehbooba Mufti (PDP), besides Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), D Raja (CPI), Jayant Chaudhary (RLD) and MDMK MP Vaiko. A warm welcome was earlier accorded here to all the leaders on their arrival here for the two-day brain-storming session.