Sharad Pawar calls opposition parties' meet after discussions with Prashant Kishor
New Delhi/IBNS: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar has called a meeting of all opposition parties on Tuesday to explore options of a united fight against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 national election as well as the Assembly poll due to be held in Uttar Pradesh next year.
Invitations have gone to several parties on behalf of Sharad Pawar and former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, who has joined Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress party ahead of the Bengal election.
Interestingly, the meet comes after a luncheon date between Sharad Pawar and political strategist Prashant Kishor, who recently left his organisation Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC).
"Sharad Pawar ji and Shri Yashwant Sinha ji are co-chairing a discussion on the present national scenario. Yashwant Sinha has requested your kind presence and participation in the meeting," the invite accessed by media reads, which has been sent out by Rashtra Manch, Yashwant Sinha's outfit.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Manoj Jha, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s Sanjay Singh, Congress leaders Vivek Tankha and Kapil Sibal and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah are some of the invitees.
Sibal has reportedly declined to attend the meet and so has Jha. Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK will be represented by Tiruchi Shiva, said reports.
NCP's Nawab Malik revealed a broader list that includes "eminent persons" from various fields - these include retired Justice AP Singh, poet Javed Akhtar, KTS Tulsi, Ashutosh, former election commissioner SY Qureshi, lawyer Colin Gonsalves and journalists Karan Thapar and Pritish Nandi.
Details of the opposition meeting surfaced after Sharad Pawar's discussions with Prashant Kishor in Delhi on Monday.
The two met for the second time in two weeks amid speculation over a strategy for "Mission 2024" to fight unitedly the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in the next general election.
The duo last met on June 11 at Sharad Pawar's Mumbai home for three hours.
Prashant Kishor and I-PAC led Mamata Banerjee to sweep the April-May Assembly polls and return as Chief Minister of Bengal for a third straight term.
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