Opposition parties to form grand alliance against BJP

NEW DELHI: Leaders from as many as 21 key opposition parties, including two former Prime Ministers and many present and past chief ministers, are taking part in a crucial meeting being held before the starting of Parliament's winter session in Delhi. The meeting decided to form a grand alliance against BJP in the upcoming Loksabha elections.

The crucial meet also comes a day before the declaration of assembly poll results in the five states.

Former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh (Congress) and HD Deve Gowda (JD-U), West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (TMC), Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu (TDP), Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (AAP), former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah (NC), DMK president MK Stalin, RLD chief Ajit Singh and CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury are some of the leaders that were part in this meet.

Also present in the meeting were Tejashwi Yadav (RLD), former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren (JMM), former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi (HAM), Babulal Marandi (JVM), Badruddin Ajmal (AIUDF) and senior politician Sharad Yadav.

The meeting of opposition parties is taking place at Parliament House Annexe.

The meeting, however,saw no representation from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP).

Today's meeting in the national capital has been called by Chandrababu Naidu aimed at bringing all opposition parties under a single umbrella to take on the BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Chandrababu Naidu has recently ended his decades-long rivalry with the Congress.

Ahead of the decisive meeting of the opposition parties, Naidu also met with National Conference chairman Farooq Abdullah and Congress leader Ahmed Patel earlier in the day. It was interference of DMK leader M.K.Stalin that made Arvind Kejriwal attend the meet despite his rivalry with Congress. Stalin had met with Arvind Kejriwal yesterday.

Meanwhile, the BJP has maintained confidence by claiming that despite the Opposition meet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is again going to retain the post with a clear majority in the upcoming 2019 General elections.