Posters and banners welcoming leaders from various Opposition parties were put up on the Race Course road in Bengaluru ahead of the joint opposition meeting which will take place at Taj West End Hotel over the next two days. The banners featured faces of several leaders such as Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and many more.
The leaders of at least 26 Opposition parties will converge at the hotel in the evening as part of their efforts to present a united front against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the Centre. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister, DK Shivakumar, has been deputed as in-charge to monitor all the preparations for the meeting. Arrangements have been made for all the opposition leaders to stay at a five-star hotel in the city.
Priyank Kharge, Karnataka Minister and son of Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge, on Monday, said that the joint opposition meeting in Bengaluru is being held to preserve the idea of India and the Constitution. He continued saying, "If BJP has a problem with our unity, it means that they are afraid that they will be unseated. You can also see how BJP's and PM Modi's magic is waning...This goes to show that Mr Modi's popularity is down, BJP is clueless and their policies are hurting India.”
NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and daughter Supriya Sule will not be attending the opposition joint meeting in Bengaluru today. They will participate in the crucial meet tomorrow, NCP Chief Spokesperson Mahesh Bharet Tapase confirmed on Twitter.
An informal meeting is scheduled at 6 pm on Monday after which there will be dinner at 8 pm. On Tuesday (July 18), the meeting will kick off at 11 am and will continue till 4 pm.
Following this, there will be a press conference in which the campaign strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls may be announced.
Meanwhile, the united Opposition has got a significant hurdle out of its way, with the Congress backing the Aam Aadmi Party in opposing the Delhi services ordinance. With the move, the Congress has finally paved the way for the AAP's full participation in the Opposition platform.
Congress had been on the fence over the issue so far. The party's general secretary Ajay Maken had gone as far as to say that the Congress wouldn't support Delhi CM Arvind in his quest for control over the transfers and postings of administrative officials — a "unique privilege" denied to previous Chief Ministers. What didn't help matters was the arrest of its senior Punjab leader OP Soni in a corruption case by the Bhagwant Mann government.
However, it seems that the Congress has been convinced by other Opposition parties to back AAP for the sake of the united Opposition against the BJP in 2024.