Congress seeks to present United Oppn, invites bigwigs from allied parties for ceremony; Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh to have similar show of strength
The swearing-in ceremony of chief minister-elect Ashok Gehlot and deputy CM-elect Sachin Pilot will be a show of strength of non-BJP parties as many leaders, in a show of a united Opposition ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections, will witness the event to be held on Monday.
On Sunday, both Gehlot and Pilot, took stock of the arrangements for the event at Albert Hall in Jaipur, where the oath-taking ceremony of a chief minister has been scheduled for the first time. Gehlot will take oath as CM for the third time. While for Pilot, who won his maiden Assembly election, it will be his debut as deputy CM under a power-sharing formula worked out by the party high command.
The galaxy of leaders invited to witness the grand ceremony are Congress president Rahul Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. Congress leaders AK Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Puducherry CM Narayan Sammy, Rajeev Shukla, Anand Sharma, former Haryana CM Bhupendra Singh Hooda, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh will also grace the event.
Others who have been invited to attend the ceremony include Janata Dal (Secular) chief and former PM HD Deve Gowda, Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav, National Conference's Farooq Abdullah, Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Tejashwi Yadav, DMK's MK Stalin and Kanimozhi, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's Hemant Soren, Janata Vikas Morcha's Babulal Marandi and All India United Democratic Front leader Badruddin Ajmal. With its focus on a united Opposition, Congress has invited non-BJP leaders. Congress' wresting of power in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh from the BJP is being seen as a political boost for the grand old party and as such, the swearing-in ceremony is being held at such a grand level.
Sources said most of the leaders from those mentioned above will also attend the oath-taking ceremonies of Kamal Nath in MP and Bhupesh Baghel in Chhattisgarh.
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