Presidential Polls: TRS, AAP likely to skip Mamata Banerjee led opposition meeting today
15 June, 2022 | Pravina Srivastava
TRS unlikely to send a delegate to Mamata's meeting, according to CMO sources, despite efforts to generate agreement for an opposition-backed nominee
West Bengal CM and TMC leader, Mamata Banerjee will meet with key opposition leaders on Wednesday to discuss the presidential election and how to fight the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), meanwhile, is unlikely to send a delegate to Mamata’s meeting, according to CMO sources, despite efforts to generate agreement for an opposition-backed nominee. The Aam Aadmi Party, led by Arvind Kejriwal, will not be present at the meeting, according to reports. According to AAP sources, the matter would be considered only once the nominee for the forthcoming presidential election is announced.
On Tuesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee travelled to New Delhi and met with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar ahead of the meeting. On July 18, presidential elections will be held, and the results will be announced on July 21.
Former minister HD Deve Gowda and his son, Janata Dal (S) leader HD Kumaraswamy, Rashtriya Lok Dal’s Jayant Chaudhary, and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Mehbooba Mufti are among the leaders expected to attend the meeting.
TR Baalu of MK Stalin’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) will attend the meeting, while Subhash Desai of the Shiv Sena will.
The meeting will also be attended by the Samajwadi Party and the National Conference.
Congress is expected to attend the meeting at the Constitution Club, according to sources. Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh, and Randeep Singh Surjewala are among the Congress heavyweights expected to attend.
Banerjee has also sent an invitation to Shiromani Akali Dal, a former BJP ally, although it is unlikely to go.
D Raja, the general secretary of the Communist Party of India, said on Tuesday that left-wing parties are likely to attend the meeting. In Bengal, the CPI-M and other left-wing parties compete with the ruling TMC.
The conference is unlikely to be attended by Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal, which has been invited.
Banerjee had already addressed a letter to 22 politicians, including members of the Left, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, and governors of opposition-controlled states.