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The INDIA bloc is likely to hold its next meeting on 31 August and 1 September in Mumbai, sources said as reported by news agency PTI on Friday. The meeting is likely to be held in Mumbai’s Powai location and will be hosted jointly by MVA.
As per the sources, the meeting would be held in the format of the Bengaluru meeting wherein the leaders first confabulating in an informal setting on the first day before their main meeting day.
“The opposition meeting will be a two-day affair and will take place on August 31 and September 1 with all leaders approving the dates,” a source said as quoted by PTI.
The likely venue would be a hotel in Powai and there will be a press conference on September 1 evening, the source said.
There have been several dates that have been talked about earlier but those did not work out as all leaders were not available on those dates.
The third meeting is being hosted jointly by the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP’s Sharad Pawar faction, with support from the Congress which constitutes the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance. The MVA constituents had been holding parleys to schedule the meeting.
Moreover, the sources also told the agency that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also met RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav has discussed a host of issues, including the way forward for opposition bloc INDIA.
The first opposition meet was held in Patna in June followed by Bengaluru in July. The alliance is also likely to announce the composition of committees for specific actions such as communication and 2024 general election campaign in the run-up to the polls. A joint secretariat for better coordination among the parties is also to be announced soon, the sources said.
During the meeting, the parties are expected to iron out their differences as much as possible, especially in states where they are in a direct poll battle.
Earlier in the Bengaluru meeting, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had announced the new name of the opposition bloc Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). Moreover, he had said a committee of 11 members will also be set up for coordination, and a convenor will be selected at the next meeting in Mumbai.
The 26 opposition parties which are part of the opposition alliance are: the Congress, TMC, DMK, AAP, JD(U), RJD, JMM, NCP (Sharad Pawar), Shiv Sena (UBT), SP, NC, PDP, CPI(M), CPI, RLD, MDMK, Kongunadu Makkal Desia Katchi (KMDK), VCK, RSP, CPI-ML (Liberation), Forward Bloc, IUML, Kerala Congress (Joseph), Kerala Congress (Mani), Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), and the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK).
Meanwhile, according to media reports, PM Modi had taken a dig at the name of the Opposition bloc and had said that the bloc should be called “Ghamandiya” and not INDIA. “They changed their name from UPA to INDIA to hide how they schemed against the poor… The name INDIA is not to show their patriotism but with an intention to rob the country,” NDTV said outlet quoting Prime Minister Modi.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Updated: 05 Aug 2023, 06:24 AM IST
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