What will be discussed at today’s opposition parties meeting in Bengaluru, and who will be there?

In the first of two meetings, leaders from 24 opposition parties will gather in Bengaluru on Monday night to plan how to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the next Monsoon Session of Parliament. The parties are also anticipated to begin work on a minimal common agenda and reveal a coordinated agitation strategy to challenge the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections of 2024.

The leaders are anticipated to conduct talks about making a united statement and take action on their suggestion to field common opposition candidates in the majority of Lok Sabha seats. Those in the know said that before this evening’s dinner meeting, negotiations would be held to finalize the agenda for the talks. On Tuesday, the parties will get together once again for the major event.

The meeting on Tuesday is significant since it takes place at the same time as the NDA summit, which was held on July 18 in Delhi and during which the BJP-led coalition is expected to add some new members.

What is the dinner schedule?
Siddaramaiah, the chief minister of Karnataka, will host a dinner tonight where the main opposition figures are anticipated to finalize their strategy. Sonia Gandhi, a former leader of the Congress, is also anticipated at this event to support Mallikarjun Kharge, the party’s leader, in his attempts to forge a unified opposition.

Gandhi was asked to attend the Bengaluru event because she is the head of the Congress parliamentary committee and because it would take place in a state where the party is in power.

The meal serves as a warm-up for the significant meeting on Tuesday, the second of its kind after the first gathering last month at the home of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Unidentified sources informed PTI that there is a suggestion to form a panel to prepare a single minimum platform and communication points for the Opposition coalition for the general elections in 2024.

Additionally, there will be discussions on forming a subcommittee to plan the parties’ united schedule of events, which will include rallies, conventions, and agitations. Also on the table is a proposal to talk about how seat sharing will be decided amongst states. The leaders of the opposition could also talk about the EVM problem and recommend changes to the Election Commission.

Also on the agenda is a name suggestion from the opposition leaders.

Who Is Present and Who Is Not?
The conference in Bengaluru is more significant than the one in Patna on June 23 since eight more parties will be present: the MDMK, KMDMK, Kerala Congress (M), Kerala Congress (J), RSP, Forward Bloc, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).

Additionally, after receiving an invitation, the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) of Tamil Nadu, headed by M H Jawahirullah, and the Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) of Krishna Patel are also expected to join the front.

After much thought, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said on Sunday that they will be attending the opposition meeting. The Congress’s assurance that it would oppose the ordinance on Delhi administrative services in Parliament, which was a crucial need for the Kejriwal-led coalition to attend the discussions, caused them to alter their minds.

Mamata Banerjee, leader of the Trinamool Congress, will not attend the event since she had microsurgery on her left knee at the public SSKM hospital in Kolkata. However, she’ll be there for the meeting on Tuesday.

Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will forego the dinner as well but attend the main opposition party conference. According to a statement, the 82-year-old politician, who also attended the Patna opposition gathering, would go to Bengaluru tomorrow with his daughter Supriya Sule.

Pawar has been in the forefront of efforts to bring the Opposition together in order to compete with the BJP in the next Lok Sabha elections.

In addition to former chief ministers Uddhav Thackeray and Lalu Prasad, other prominent leaders scheduled to attend the meeting include Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, former party leader Rahul Gandhi, Bihar Chief Minister and JDU leader Nitish Kumar, DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, JMM leader and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, and others.