Sonia: Sonia to attend opposition meet, AAP among 24 parties invited | India News

NEW DELHI: Congress matriarch Sonia Gandhi will attend the meeting of opposition parties in Bengaluru next week, imparting a higher profile to the party’s participation in the fledgling grouping which in Patna last month articulated a collective intent to create an anti-BJP bloc for the 2024 elections.
In addition to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, Sonia will be part of deliberations that may focus on a joint programme and campaign launch for the bloc.

Leaders of 24 parties, including AAP which has a running feud with Congress, have been invited for the meeting on July 17-18. Besides the 16 which were called to Patna, the additions include sub-regional outfits MDMK, KDMK, VCK, RSP, Forward Bloc, IUML, Kerala Congress (Joseph) and Kerala Congress (Mani). RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary, who did not make it to Patna, has confirmed his attendance. Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah will host a dinner for the participants on the first evening, which will also be attended by Sonia Gandhi, AICC sources said.

After the Patna parleys hosted by Nitish Kumar, the Bengaluru brainstorming is significant for being a Congress show. It is a state that has become fresh evidence of the party’s resilience against BJP, and where a Congress sweep in recent polls has infused optimism in the opposition camp. Also, it is in the south where Congress has strong allies, like DMK, backing it. Though the issue of leadership of the opposition bloc, a problematic subject, has not been broached openly, the lead anti-BJP party is seen to be surely raising its game in the stewardship stakes. The presence of Sonia Gandhi, who headed the last big initiative that knocked from the podium the Vajpayee-led BJP, lends a gravitas to the gathering, while handing Congress a profile that most others lack. Key opposition leaders coming to Bengaluru were part of UPA that formed the government in 2004 and have worked with Sonia Gandhi.

It would mark a visible shift from six months ago when Nitish Kumar and NCP’s Sharad Pawar were running the efforts to cobble a coalition to challenge BJP, with both pleading with Congress to take the lead. As Congress waited and watched, Kumar even accused the party of delaying the matters and risking the initiative.
The issue of leadership is unlikely to be a roadblock given the desperation of the parties fighting an increasingly hegemonistic BJP. But sooner or later, a coordinator or convenor may be required as a manager. It is then that parties would be tested. Till now, it has appeared smooth, with Congress’s decision on dates for the second meeting and the venue accepted by the parties, despite the initial confusion.