Leaders of 24 Opposition parties have been invited for a second meeting in Bengaluru next week to formulate a strategy to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, PTI reported on Wednesday.

However, the Aam Aadmi Party has said that it will decide on attending the meeting only after the Congress makes its stand clear on the Centre’s ordinance that wrested control of administrative services from the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government.

The first Opposition meeting held on June 23 in Patna was attended by leaders of 15 parties. After the meeting, the AAP had declared that unless the Congress publicly opposes the ordinance it would be “very difficult” for it to be a part of any alliance that includes the grand old party.

Advertisement

The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Kongu Desa Makkal Katchi, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Revolutionary Socialist Party, All India Forward Bloc, Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala Congress (Joseph) and Kerala Congress (Mani) are the new parties that will join the second meeting in Bengaluru on July 17, according to PTI.

The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Kongu Desa Makkal Katchi were allies of the BJP in the 2014 elections.

At next week’s meeting, the non-BJP parties may discuss a name for the Opposition front and details of seat-sharing. Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will participate in the meeting, NDTV reported.

Advertisement

The 24 Opposition parties together have around 150 Lok Sabha members currently and are looking to expand their base, PTI reported.

But a spilt in veteran leader Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party and his nephew Ajit Pawar joining the ruling Eknath Shinde-Bharatiya Janata Party government in Maharashtra is said to have a become a barrier in the path to Opposition unity.

Congress General Secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, however, has insisted that the Opposition parties remain steadfast in their “unwavering resolve to defeat the fascist and undemocratic forces”.