Sonia Gandhi, Stalin, Mamata arrive in Bengaluru for joint opposition parties’ meet

Congress leader and former All India Congress Committee (AlCC) President Sonia Gandhi arrived in Bengaluru for the joint meeting of opposition parties to be held in Bengaluru on Monday, July 17. She was accompanied by her son and former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also arrived in the city on Monday. In addition to a dinner meeting on Monday night, the 26 opposition party leaders will hold a meeting on Tuesday at 11 am. This is the second meeting of the opposition leaders in India, with the first meeting held in Patna on June 23.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar received them at the Bengaluru airport. Speaking to reporters in Chennai before boarding the flight to Bengaluru, Stalin said that the opposition parties would unite to defeat BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He also said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids at the house of TN Minister K Ponmudy were to divert the attention from this meeting.

Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) founder Thirumavalavan, who arrived in Bengaluru earlier, said, “All opposition leaders are going to meet today (Monday) and tomorrow (July 18) regarding forthcoming Parliament polls. Our only aim is to defeat BJP in the elections. We have the same agenda – we have to save our nation and Constitution. So, we have planned to contest the forthcoming polls united," he stated.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said BJP and its allies would be defeated in the coming Lok Sabha elections and Modi would not get the mandate he had gotten earlier. Siddaramaiah also said that just like Congress was able to defeat Modi in the Karnataka Assembly elections, despite Modi visiting the state 28 times for campaigning, the united opposition parties would also take him on at the national level and win.

On Monday morning, Shivakumar said that it was a good beginning that the opposition was uniting in the interest of the nation. “Coming together is a beginning. We will work together to replicate the results of the Karnataka Assembly elections at the national level,” he said.

The meeting will be held tomorrow towards shaping the future of the country. This is not a meeting of a single party. The leaders will discuss problems faced by the 140 crore people of the country, Shivakumar said.

Also Read: Opposition parties meet in Bengaluru a game changer in Indian politics, says Congress

(With IANS inputs)