Sharad Pawar, the head of the NCP, said that a common minimum programme against the BJP was required for opposition unity

Sharad Pawar, the leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), said on Friday that a shared minimum strategy against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should serve as the foundation for opposition unity.

Pawar said that he will convince the opposition parties to unite behind a minimum plan in order to provide a viable alternative to the Union administration headed by Narendra Modi.

The comments made by Pawar come as opposition leaders are attempting to find common ground in order to form a unified front against the BJP before the general elections in 2024. Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, has recently been all across the nation to meet with opposition figures. Arvind Kejriwal, the convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Delhi chief minister, has also made similar rounds after the Centre proposed an act to overrule the Supreme Court judgement on control of services in Delhi.

On June 23, opposition groups are scheduled to convene in Patna, the capital of Bihar. This gathering is anticipated to be an expression of the opposition parties’ strength and cohesion.

Speaking to reporters in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, Pawar said that the BJP had faced opposition in most of the states where it was in power and added that it had overthrown elected governments in order to seize power.

According to PTI, Pawar said that “if the people have rejected the BJP at the state level, their (citizens’) view will not be any different at the national level.”

Pawar promised to provide his viewpoint in the Patna conference.

He said, “All non-BJP parties need to get down and consider creating unity among the opposition on the basis of a shared minimum platform. The BJP made many promises and elevated people’s hopes, yet it achieved nothing. It’s time to provide a substitute.

Earlier, the PTI reported that Pawar will likely deliver the common minimum plan to the parties at the Opposition parties’ meeting on June 23 once it had been finalised. The article also said that the opposition parties’ united nominee for prime minister would not be discussed.

“The first step is the meeting. A single agenda will be determined, according to a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader reported by PTI.

The Janata Dal-United (JD-U), led by Nitish, is a coalition partner with the RJD and has recently taken the lead in promoting Opposition unity.

Everyone is affected by inflation and unemployment, thus it’s vital to call attention to the government’s economic mismanagement, which is the outcome of poor policies like demonetisation and flawed GST. Other major challenges include racial harmony, misusing government institutions, and undermining democracy, the source told PTI.