Mumbai (Maharashtra): Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said that party chief Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aaditya Thackeray would attend the second meeting of the Opposition parties, to be held in Karnataka's capital Bengaluru.
Raut told reporters here that he would also accompany Uddhav Thackeray and Aaditya Thackeray for the meeting which he described as an "important one". Uddhav Thackeray and Aaditya had attended the first meeting of the Opposition parties, which was conveyed by Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar at his residence in Patna.
Also read: Karnataka: Congress leaders review preparations for the Bengaluru Opposition meeting
Members of as many as 17 Opposition parties had attended the meeting in Patna, following which they had decided to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls together.
Sanjay Raut, who is a member of the Rajya Sabha, had said that to protect democracy the Opposition parties need to stay united. "Uddhav Thackeray has said in the (Patna) meeting that, if there won't be a power change in 2024, then this will be the last election. So to protect democracy, we (the opposition parties) have to stay united and fight the election," Raut had said after the meeting in Patna.
The meeting in Bengaluru will be chaired by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge. It is being held after a key political development in Maharashtra where senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar orchestrated a coup and joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena BJP government in the state.
Shiv Sena (UBT) is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra, which also comprises the Congress and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction). Meanwhile, leaders of 24 Opposition parties are expected to attend the meeting in Bengaluru and expected to chalk out a plan for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
