Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 8 : Nationalist Congress Party Chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said he would participate in a meeting of the top Opposition leaders convened by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, to mobilise the opposition against Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The meeting will be held in Patna on June 23, a JD(U) leader said.
Speaking with ANI, Pawar said, "Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has called a meeting on June 23. He called me up and extended an invitation. He has invited the opposition leaders of the country. I will go there. He has extended the invitation keeping in mind the necessity to work together on a national issue..."
Earlier in the day, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav speaking to the media in Patna said that almost 15 parties will be attending the meeting, however the presence of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao was not confirmed as he could not have a word with him.
"...Couldn't have a word with KCR (Telangana CM) but rest all leaders are coming...almost 15 parties will be attending the meet...from every party, the main leaders are coming not just a representative".
Janta Dal (United) President Lalan Singh on Wednesday confirmed that the meeting will be held in Patna on June 23.
The meeting, which is aimed at laying the groundwork for the coming together of like-minded Opposition parties against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government at the Centre, was originally scheduled to be held on June 12.
However, the meeting was pushed back after several Opposition leaders, including Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, expressed their inability to attend the meeting on June 12, citing prior engagements and preoccupations.
Earlier Lalan Singh said, "The meeting will be attended by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar, and Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin."
The Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has been spearheading efforts to bring all Opposition parties together against the BJP government at the Centre, with an eye on next year's Lok Sabha polls.
As part of the effort to galvanise the Opposition against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, he has already met the likes of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar.
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