Former Congress leader and senior advocate Kapil Sibal said the presence of a significant number of opposition leaders at the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar is not enough. “Opposition unity requires much more than optics of this nature,” Sibal said. Outlining three requirements that he thinks are necessary for effective opposition unity, Sibal said meeting of minds, a common agenda, sacrificing partisan interests are more important than leaders being present at an event.
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Opinion | Signals from the south for next round of polls
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, deputy chief minister Yejashwi Yadav, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary D Raja, actor-politician Kamal Haasan attended the event. All leaders holding hands and posing in front of the camera from the swearing-in stage sent a message that the opposition stands united. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi too mentioned all the opposition leaders as he addressed the ceremony.
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However, there were many nuances in the apparent opposition unity as the Congress did not invite the AAP, BSP, BRS, YSR Congress and the BJD to the event. Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee was invited but she sent MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar to the event.
The invitations were based on the recent happenings and also the opposition meetings that took place during the Parliament session. While AAP is at loggerheads with the Congress in Delhi and Punjab, YSRC, BJD stayed away from any kind of opposition grouping.
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s remark at the inauguration event of the Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express Train has triggered speculations that Patnaik wants Narendra Modi to remain the PM after 2024. “Hope PM Modi will visit Puri to inaugurate airport in the next 4 years,” Patnaik said. BRS chief Telangana CM K Chandrashekar is a key proponent of opposition unity but his stance is against both BJP and the Congress.
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Akhilesh Yadav was invited but he skipped the event citing prior engagements.
Mamata Banerjee recently softened her stance slightly as she said her party will support the Congress where it is strong for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
