Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday evening for forging unity among Opposition parties ahead of next year’s national elections. The NCP supremo met the Congress leaders at Kharge’s home in Delhi, where they discussed strategies to unify the opposition.
After the meeting, Pawar said this was just the beginning. “Talks will be held with other important Opposition leaders, be it Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal or others. We will move forward, taking everyone along, for Opposition unity,” he told reporters.
“A process has started to unite the Opposition. This is the beginning and all parties are committed towards this process. We are all together to work for the unity of the Opposition,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Stating that he was glad that Pawar had come to visit them from Mumbai, Kharge said that a day earlier he and Rahul Gandhi had met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav. “We agreed that we will keep the Opposition united in the country”
“To save the country and democracy, to protect the Constitution and ensure freedom of speech, we are ready to fight as one,” he told reporters.
Pawar’s visit comes days after he stated that the NCP does not agree with the Opposition parties’ demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the charges against the Adani group by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research. But the NCP – which is among the strongest anti-BJP forces in the country – will not oppose their demand for the sake of Opposition unity, indicating that its views on JPC demand will not hinder Opposition attempts to unite ahead of the 2024 polls.
On Wenesday, Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav met Kharge and Gandhi amid talks of some opposition parties banding together to defeat the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The JDU chief left the national capital after meeting with several Opposition leaders, including Left veterans Sitaram Yechury and D Raja, Aam Aadmi Party’s national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
After his meeting with Nitish Kumar, CPI-M general secretary Yechury said seat adjustments will be made at the state level, hinting that a third front was a possibility.
“Efforts for Opposition unity have picked up pace. An opposition coalition will be formed and seat adjustments will be done at the state level,” the CPI(M) general secretary said.