Opposition leaders including NCP’s Sharad Pawar and Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav have attended a dinner hosted by senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal at his residence in Delhi on Monday.
The dinner was hosted on the occasion of Sibal’s 73rd birthday celebration. As the meeting consisted all major Oppositions and hence it became a rallying point for unity against the Centre.
According to the sources the leaders at the dinner discussed various poll strategies for upcoming general elections 2024 and also the need to strengthen the Opposition.
The other top leaders who attended the event included Sitaram Yechury (CPM), D Raja (CPI), Lalu Prasad Yadav(RJD), Derek O’Brien (TMC), Tiruchi Siva (DMK) among others.
The sources have also said that most of the leaders who attended the dinner included the so-called “G-23” group of leaders who last year had written a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi asking for an overhaul in the party’s organisation and leadership. And the leaders who were present were Anand Sharma, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari.
In the meeting the leaders talked much on the importance of unity and the need to do well in the elections to defeat The ruling BJP in 2024 general elections, said sources.
“Mr Sharad Pawar spoke about the Maha Vikas Aghadi Government in Maharashtra and suggested that a similar model can be replicated in other states to keep opposition unity intact,” said a source.
Apart from this, some other leaders suggested strategies for Congress to do well against BJP.
“If Congress party can resolve its internal issues, the Opposition has a fighting chance against BJP as the two are head to head on close to 200 seats,” a senior leader said.
“Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut stressed on the need for Congress to overcome challenges faced by the party,” a source said further.
“But the Congress leaders chose to remain tight-lipped about the party’s internal issues,” the source again said.
