In a move to coalesce ahead of the country’s fractured opposition, veteran Maharashtra politician Sharad Pawar met with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday evening.
At Mr. Kharge’s residence in Delhi, where the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader met the Congress leaders, they were scheduled to discuss tactics for uniting the opposition.
Following the meeting, Sharad Pawar said, “I want to meet with the leaders of all opposition parties. [Arvind] Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee… We should go speak with them. We will move forward, bringing everyone with us, to unite the opposition”.
“I am glad Sharad Pawar came to visit us from Mumbai and guide us”, Mr. Kharge remarked.
“Yesterday, Rahul Gandhi and I spoke with Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav on keeping the opposition united throughout the country”, he added.
“The incidents that are happening in the country today… we are ready to fight as one to save the country, to save democracy, to protect the constitution and freedom of speech… misuse of government agencies, on issues like inflation for youth employment”, he continued.
Rahul Gandhi declared, “We are all united”.
The meeting comes a day after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav met Mr. Kharge and Mr. Gandhi amid discussions about various opposition parties banding together on a common platform to take on the BJP next year.
Efforts to unite the opposition look to be picking up steam this week, with Nitish Kumar meeting Left veterans Sitaram Yechury and D Raja on Thursday.
According to opposition leaders, the leaders are likely to move forward with unity talks as more deliberations are scheduled in the coming days. The Congress intends to call a meeting of major opposition leaders soon.
