Patna Opposition meet to avoid tricky topics

About 20 opposition parties are coming together at the unity meeting on June 23 in Patna and sources say contentious issues are likely to be brushed under the carpet.

The biggest among these is the Delhi ordinance issue. Both the Punjab and Delhi Congress units have said “no” to supporting Arvind Kejriwal on this. It’s likely that none of the opposition parties, including AAP and Congress, would raise the issue. Because this could raise the temperatures and wouldn’t serve the purpose of the Patna meet.

Even the Trinamool Congress, despite recent criticism of the Congress by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, will not attack the grand old party in Patna. In fact, sources say the TMC is likely to reach out to the Congress in acknowledgment of the fact that it’s a pan-India party and has a national reach. In private, a top TMC leader said, “We understand why Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has to attack Mamata Banerjee. He needs to win from his seat in Murshidabad.”

The meeting doesn’t plan to formulate or finalise any common minimum programme yet. The parties feel that this could be contentious at this time and it’s best to leave it for later, closer to results or polls.

The attack of the participants will be on some leaders who are not part of their unity efforts despite being in the opposition. Notable names are those of Mayawati and Naveen Patnaik. TMC MP Derek O’Brien told News18, “He (Patnaik) will not speak on burning of churches or Manipur but click pictures with the Pope. He is working to suit the RSS and the BJP.”

However, despite competition and differences, KCR and Jagan Mohan Reddy won’t be targeted as top leaders in the Congress and TMC feel that following the 2024 Lok Sabha election results, if the opposition has the numbers, these parties could make an overture.

But the real challenge and task lie ahead in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament when the Delhi ordinance will come up for passage and vote. Opposition parties will try to ensure that the BJP is defeated in the upper house where they have the numbers. But here again, the Congress’s stand matters.

As expected, tricky issues like the leadership of the opposition front will also not be raked up at the Patna meet. The hope is that the meeting ends with a “Hum saath saath hain” photo op. And the smile remains.

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