June 23 opposition meet: Congress confident of 'national alternative' but Mamata, Kejriwal may play spoilsport

A major meeting of key opposition leaders is scheduled to take place in Patna on June 23. While the Congress is confident that a national alternative will emerge out of it, the last-minute reservations by Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee may scuttle the effort. --Reports ETV Bharat's Amit Agnihotri.

New Delhi: The Congress on Monday expressed confidence that a national alternative to the ruling BJP will emerge when several opposition parties will meet in Patna on June 23.

“The opposition leaders are meeting on June 23. They will sit down and hold talks. A national alternative will emerge before the country,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said. The Patna meeting is being coordinated by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar who has been holding talks with the various regional parties for the formation of a national front which will take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Though Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi are scheduled to attend the June 23 meeting, the recent comments of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had raised doubts over the proposed opposition unity. Banerjee, also the head of TMC, said that she will have no alliance with the Congress if the grand old party backed the BJP in West Bengal. She had made such allegations earlier during the assembly polls.

Kejriwal campaigned in Congress-ruled Rajasthan on Sunday where he targeted chief minister Ashok Gehlot saying no work had been done over the past five years and that the veteran was hesitant to take action against former BJP chief minister Vasundhara Raje. Days before Kejriwal’s visit, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj had offered not to contest in the coming Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh assembly polls if the Congress was ready to give up Delhi and Punjab.

“The AAP had gone to Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka and the result was before everyone,” said Tewari, referring to the poor performance of AAP in the two states. “If the regional parties who have governments in one or two states are keen on having a national alternative, they should introspect. I will leave it at that,” he said.

The message was intended for TMC as well. The TMC is opposed to the CPI-M, a Congress ally in West Bengal. During the previous budget session of parliament, Kharge had led 19 like-minded parties to corner the government over the demand of a JPC probe into the Adani issue. The AAP and the TMC were also part of those sessions.

Recently, Kejriwal met several opposition parties to mobilize support over a central ordinance related to posting of officers in Delhi. The Delhi chief minister wants the opposition to oppose that ordinance in the coming monsoon session. However, the Delhi and Punjab units of the Congress opposed supporting Kejriwal over the issue during a strategy session held by Kharge recently. In West Bengal, the state unit is against having an alliance with TMC.

Congress insiders said that despite that, the high command is keen on pursuing a national alternative to the BJP and was going to the June 23 meeting in Patna with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in mind. “We will cross the bridge when we come to it. The parliament session is still away. The strategy for the monsoon session will be revealed when Parliament reconvenes,” Tewari said on whether the Congress will oppose the Delhi ordinance or not.