‘INDIA’ Alliance of Opposition Parties to Convene in Mumbai, Uddhav Thackeray to Host
Mumbai, 6th August 2023: The decision to convene the ‘INDIA’ alliance meeting of opposition parties in Mumbai on August 31st and September 1st was reached during a meeting held on Saturday. Shiv Sena party chief Uddhav Thackeray will play the role of host for the event.
A gathering of key leaders took place on Saturday to discuss the organization of the ‘INDIA’ meeting. Following the meeting, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan informed the media that the dates of August 31st and September 1st were mutually agreed upon by national-level party leaders. The two-day conference will take place at the Hyatt Hotel near the airport, with around 150 leaders from various parties expected to participate.
Distinguished leaders including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, and National Conference leader Dr. Farooq Abdullah, along with PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti, are slated to attend. The meeting will delve deeply into discussions on strategies for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and the systematic nomination of candidates.
The anticipation surrounding this gathering is heightened due to the recent suspension of Rahul Gandhi’s sentence by the Supreme Court.
Initially, there was some uncertainty regarding the organizing body of the meeting in Mumbai. A proposal suggested that the three parties within the Mahavikas Aghadi should collectively organize the event. However, the ‘INDIA’ alliance steering committee decided to entrust the planning responsibility to a single party.
Accordingly, Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray will be the coordinator, while the Congress and NCP, led by the Sharad Pawar group, will assume the role of co-convenors. This marks the third meeting of the ‘INDIA’ alliance, with previous gatherings taking place in Patna and Bangalore, where constituent parties held governmental authority. Despite Mumbai being the chosen location, the alliance does not currently hold state governance, posing a unique challenge. Ensuring the security of various leaders is of paramount importance, and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut emphasized the need for cooperation from the state government. The task of liaising with the state government has been entrusted to Leader of Opposition, Vijay Wadettiwar.
The Saturday meeting witnessed the presence of notable figures, including NCP president Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Congress leaders Prithviraj Chavan, Balasaheb Thorat, Ashok Chavan, and Nana Patole, along with opposition leader Vijay Wadettiwar, and Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut and Subhash Desai.
Formation of a Tri-Party Committee: To ensure the success of the Aghadi meeting, a committee comprising five leaders from each of the three parties, namely Congress, Shiv Sena, and NCP, will be established.
Congress State President Nana Patole confirmed that the committee will include former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Naseem Khan, Varsha Gaikwad, Bunty Patil, and Sanjay Nirupam from the Congress party.
