Karnataka: Congress leaders review preparations for the Bengaluru Opposition meeting

As many as 24 Opposition parties will be present for the second meeting to be held in Karnataka's capital Bengaluru on July 17-18.

Bengaluru (Karnataka): The much-anticipated second meeting of the Opposition parties will be held here on July 17-18. All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary KC Venugopal and Karnataka Congress in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala reviewed the preparations for the crucial meeting late Saturday, July 15, night.

As many as 17 Opposition parties had first met in Patna, Bihar in June and vowed to fight the 2024 General Elections together and take on the Narendra Modi-led regime. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge will convey the meeting in Bengaluru, which will be held at the Taj Westend. A total of 24 Opposition parties, including Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Trinamool Congress, DMK, Janata Dal (United) (JDU), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP Sharad Pawar faction), Kerala Congress (M), Kerala Congress (J), RSP, Forward Block, VCK, MDMK, Akali Dal, Samajwadi Party for the crucial meeting.

Sources said Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar have also been invited to the meeting. They added that all MPs and MLAs of the Congress party in Karnataka have not been invited to the meeting.

Senior Congress leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK supremo MK Stalin, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar, Delhi CM and AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav, SP chief Akhilesh Singh Yadav, and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar among others will attend the second Opposition meeting. The second Opposition meeting was to be held in Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, but later the venue was shifted to Bengaluru.

No invitation to JDS: Sources said the Janata Dal (Secular) has not been invited to the Opposition meeting. The JD(S) was also not invited to the Patna meeting.

Legislature meeting on July 19: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has called a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party on July 19, and Congress chief Mallikarjuna Kharge is expected to attend the meeting. The meeting will be held at a private hotel here, where Congress leaders are likely to deliberate on the preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will hold a separate meeting with Karnataka ministers on July 19 here.