‘One against one’, consensus on caste census, movement against central agencies’ “high-handedness”, Hindu-Muslim polarisation and “projection of a larger united Opposition” — these will be the probable topics on the table to be discussed when the Opposition parties meet on June 23 in Patna.
The meeting was earlier scheduled to take place on June 12. It was postponed due to the ‘unavailability’ of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as he was on a long trip to the UK.
At present, apart from Congress, Aam Aadmi Party’s convener Arvind Kejriwal, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav have agreed to join the meeting in Patna, organised and hosted by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. JD(U) and RJD have been the prime movers for the meeting.
KC Tyagi, senior leader of JD(U) and former MP, told News18, “Nitish Kumar ji has proposed the ‘one against one’ formula, which appears to be the only way to consolidate Opposition votes now. Barring a few states such as Punjab, Kerala, West Bengal, the formula will work for the Opposition. This meeting is a platform to discuss ideas of all like-minded Opposition parties.”
Apart from the ‘one against one’ formula, Opposition parties are likely to discuss issues related to ‘extreme polarisation’ on communal lines, “high-handedness by central agencies” such as the CBI and ED, and the “need for caste census”, a senior leader in the Opposition told News18.
Even though the regional parties have specific issues to raise in the meeting, the focal point would be the strategy for the forthcoming elections, he added.
Bipolar Fight
According to senior JD(U) and RJD leaders, Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad would pitch for a bipolar fight in 450 constituencies. “We have done our homework… Senior leaders like Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav have agreed to this idea too. But we have to be in agreement with Congress as it has a government in many states now,” a senior RJD leader said.
Reacting to the war of words between Trinamool Congress, Congress and AAP, the senior RJD leader said, “To project unity, the Opposition parties have to stop attacking each other about controlling their turf. We need to remember that the general election is not about winning in states, but getting a good number to defeat Modi.”
The parties will also raise the issue related to caste census. Manoj Jha, during an earlier interaction with News18, said, “Caste census is a crucial matter for all of us. In Bihar, the government conducted a survey and 90% of the survey was done. India saw caste census before Independence. The data, now used for schemes, is over 80 years old. We need to have fresh caste census.”
Trinamool Congress, however, says the venue and date are fixed, while the issues would be discussed only in the meeting, there should not be speculation about them. “We have an agreement on three issues. That’s a positive. The date of the meeting (June 23), the venue (Patna) and that the head of every party will attend the meeting. Subsequently, the date and venue for the next meeting will be decided in Patna. Beyond this, it is not advisable for anyone to jump the gun and speculate,” said TMC’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien.
Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal in a letter has asked opposition parties to make Centre’s ordinance the top issue at the Patna meet.
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