14 oppn parties join hands to fight BJP in 2024 LS polls

PATNA: The leaders of 14 non-BJP parties met in Patna on Friday resolved to take on the saffron party-led NDA unitedly in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections while fissures emerged with the Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's AAP skipping the joint press conference, asserting that it would be difficult for it to be part of any such meeting in future till the Congress publicly supports it on the Centre's ordinance issue.
The opposition plan of action is expected to be formulated at the second meeting to be chaired by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge in Shimla either on July 10 or 12. "We will have to evolve separate plans for every state and will work together to dethrone BJP at the Centre," Kharge said at the meeting.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, "We may have some differences but have decided to work together with flexibility and will work to protect our ideology."
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said they would meet in the next few days to give final shape to their plan of fighting together. "We had a good meeting and several leaders expressed their views. Opposition parties have decided to work together and contest the Lok Sabha elections unitedly," Nitish told the media.
Nitish, who hosted the meeting, said they were working in the national interest and accused BJP of trying to change the country's history.
Top leaders of 15 parties attended the opposition meeting. But leaders of only 13 parties participated in the joint press briefing. Besides the four leaders of AAP, including Kejriwal, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, its MPs Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha who attended the meeting.
Tamil Nadu CM and DMK leader M K Stalin was also conspicuous by his absence at the joint press briefing in which Congress's Kharge and Rahul among other leaders also resolved to fight unitedly against the alleged "dictatorial rule" of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.
Sources said, during the meeting, Kejriwal insisted that the Congress make an announcement at the end of the meeting that it would support AAP on the issue of the Centre's ordinance. But neither Kharge nor Rahul gave any clear-cut assurance of their support to the APP on the issue.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee intervened and asked the AAP and Congress leaders to sort out their differences on the Delhi ordinance issue over tea and biscuits at a later date. She said the Patna opposition meeting was not the ideal forum for such discussion, sources said.
We are united, will fight unitedly, says Mamata
Mamata said the first meet was organised in Patna as whatever starts from Patna, takes the shape of the public movement. “If this dictatorial government (NDA) returns this time, there will be no elections in future,” she said. “We all are united and will fight unitedly against BJP,” she said and added: “BJP wants to change history but we'll ensure that history is saved.”
She also asserted that they were not opposition parties but citizens of the country who are patriotic and love 'Bharat Mata'. NCP supremo Sharad Pawar said just like the JP movement, “our united front will get the blessings of the public”. “The message from the Patna meeting is clear for all of us that we need to work together to save the country,” said Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
While Jharkhand CM and JMM leader Hemant Soren said it was the beginning and would prove to be a milestone for the country, Uddhav Thackeray said,“We will stand against the tyrants (BJP).” The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief also said parties can have different ideologies and differences but they belong to one country and will work together to save the people from those in power currently.
NC leader Omar Abdullah said parties from Kashmir to Kanyakumari have come together “not for power, but for principles and to save the Constitution”. CPI-M’s Sitaram Yechury said the main issue was to protect the character of our secular democratic country. CPI leader D Raja alleged that the BJP's nine-year rule was “disastrous and detrimental” to the Constitution. “We can’t let Gandhi’s India become Godse’s country,” PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti said.