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TRS, AAP, BJD opt out of Mamata’s meet to discuss presidential poll
Banerjee last week wrote to non-BJP leaders, including Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and , saying the poll is a perfect opportunity for all progressive opposition parties to deliberate on the course of Indian politics
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) have opted out of the meeting West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has called in New Delhi on Wednesday to decide on a united candidate, and the strategy for the presidential election next month. TRS cited the Congress’s participation in the meeting and dealt a blow to attempts for forging opposition unity by opting out.
“There is no question of sharing any platform with the Congress,” TRS said in a statement. It added Congress was invited to the meeting despite objections and referred to Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of the TRS government in Telangana without any critical word against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). TRS accused Congress of “ganging up with the BJP” in Telangana.
An AAP leader, who requested anonymity, said they will not be at the meeting. “CM [chief minister and AAP leader] Arvind Kejriwal will not be in town. ...[Member of Parliament] Sanjay Singh will also not be attending,” said the leader.
Kejriwal, who is among the leaders Banerjee wrote to for the meeting along with Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, is scheduled to visit Punjab’s Jalandhar. Mann and Kejriwal are flagging off a new government-run premium bus service from Punjab to the Delhi airport.
AAP functionaries said Kejriwal has amicable ties with Banerjee but AAP would have preferred someone else to helm the meeting to also discuss a united front against the BJP for the 2024 national elections.
A BJD leader, requesting anonymity, said chief minister Naveen Patnaik took the decision of staying away from the meeting taking into account “all aspects and keeping the interest of Odisha at the forefront”.
The meeting is scheduled in the backdrop of Congress’s protests over the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s questioning of Rahul Gandhi for the third day in connection with its money laundering probe linked to the National Herald newspaper.
Banerjee last week wrote to 22 non-BJP leaders, including Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and eight chief ministers over the election, saying it is a perfect opportunity for all progressive opposition parties to deliberate on the future course of Indian politics. She called the meeting two days after the Election Commission of India Thursday last announced the presidential election will be held on July 18, six days before President Ram Nath Kovind’s term ends. Votes will be counted on July 21.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is a few thousand votes short of the majority. It hopes to meet the deficit with support from regional parties. TRS and BJD were among the parties that backed Kovind’s candidature in 2017.
In her letter to the 22 parties, Banerjee called the election monumental as it gives legislators the opportunity to participate in deciding the head of the state and the custodian of India’s democracy when it is going “through troubled times”. She said that a “fruitful confluence of opposition voices is the need of the hour; to echo the deprived and unrepresented communities.”
A Congress leader told HT last week that a united Opposition candidate was badly needed and indications are that it would be a non-Congress nominee.
Hours after Banerjee wrote the letter, Sonia Gandhi reached out to Opposition leaders over the election. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Gandhi spoke to Pawar, Banerjee, and some other opposition leaders. He added she has deputed Mallikarjun Kharge to co-ordinate with other leaders in view of her ill health owing to Covid-19.
The Congress is expected to attend the meeting despite some uncertainty after the Banerjee’s move to take the lead was seen to be undermining a plan the party itself was working on. “We may attend the meeting provided we are not caught up in the protest against ED,” a Congress leader said, asking not to be named.
Kharge said he has also talked to Union minister Rajnath Singh. “He said that PM [Prime Minister Narendra Modi] wants to know our opinion. I asked what their proposal is and who the candidates are... If we propose a unanimous non-controversial name, will the government accept it?” Kharge told news agency ANI on Wednesday.
