Whispers of a possible unity of Opposition parties to take on the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) gained momentum as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met Congress President Sonia Gandhi here, while West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik went into a huddle in Bhubaneswar on Thursday.
Congress sources said this was the first step towards a united face being forged for the presidential elections scheduled in July, when incumbent Pranab Mukherjee’s term comes to an end. With the NDA falling short by 25,000 votes, though it has a clear edge, there is a view among sections of the Opposition that it should put up a “credible and strong” candidate.
These meetings are indications of preparations for the 2019 polls, in which the Opposition is exploring the idea of identifying 300 Lok Sabha seats all over the country for a direct contest with the BJP-led NDA, sources said. The idea, though still in a nascent phase, is aimed at ensuring that there is no division of Opposition votes.
The Congress and Nitish’s JD-U, along with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD, are allies in the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ in Bihar, which had defeated the BJP-led alliance in the state in 2015. After the BJP swept the UP elections, the Opposition has been making moves to come together to counter the Modi juggernaut. Sources in the Congress said the party was of the view that forging an alliance was not its responsibility alone.
Banerjee, on her part, said after her meeting with Patnaik in Bhubaneshwar on Thursday that ‘secular’ parties were always together. Both Odisha and West Bengal are among the states where the BJP is targeting around 115 seats in 2019.
But, gaping fissures remain within the Opposition ranks with the TMC and CPI-M, SP and BSP, and AIADMK and DMK at fierce loggerheads with each other.
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