Sharad Yadav (File)
Former MP Sharad Yadav, who has been working for unity among Opposition parties at the national level, Monday said that he spoke to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu after he walked out of NDA. He said he was hopeful of getting West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee under the “Opposition umbrella” and added that there is little chance of a third front emerging in the current political circumstances.
Yadav told The Indian Express, “We are trying to move beyond dinner diplomacy as not much time is left for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. I congratulated N Chandrababu Naidu. We have said him hello for the Opposition unity and would allow him time to respond. We have worked together earlier and share a good bond”.
Asked by what time an broader opposition can come together at the national level, he said, “It is work in progress. There are several channels at work to give it a formal shape… Akhilesh and Mayawati coming together is the best sign of Opposition unity. This is about survival. In the current political situation, there is little chance of any third front emerging. There will be only two fronts now”. He added that senior Congress leaders and NCP chief Sharad Pawar are also at work to cement “maximum opposition unity”.
Asked about Mamata’s reservation towards Left parties, he said, “We have been trying to convince her. We can sort out problems. But the one thing every political party understands and appreciates is that the attempt has to be to forge a combined opposition”. He said Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao seem to be maintaining distance from both NDA and them. On RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha and LJP chief Ramvilas Paswan coming under the Opposition umbrella, he said, “It is too early to speak anything on them.”