Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) patriarch and former Union minister Sharad Pawar created a buzz in Delhi’s political circle on Monday by calling a mega Opposition parties’ meet at his official residence at 6 Janpath in Delhi on Tuesday. The announcement came soon after his meeting with poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Monday in Delhi. This was his second meeting with Kishor in two weeks.
Kishor had earlier met him in Mumbai on 11 June, sparking speculation about a formation of a possible third front in national politics.
This meeting will take place under the umbrella of “Rashtra Manch” which was formed in 2018 by former Union minister Yashwant Sinha, who has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s style of governance. Sinha had joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) ahead of the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly election. Invitations have gone to several party leaders and eminent personalities on behalf of Sharad Pawar and former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha. This meeting has given credence to the talks that the Maratha strongman is trying to stitch a coalition of non-BJP parties to put up a challenge to PM Modi in the next general election in 2024.
While talking about Pawar’s meeting with Prashant Kishor, NCP spokesperson and minister in Maharashtra’s Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government Nawab Malik said, “Pawar is working to unite all Opposition leaders. Maybe, the meeting was to discuss it. The party’s national executive meeting is also taking place in the national capital tomorrow.” Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Manoj Jha, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s Sanjay Singh, Congress leaders Vivek Tankha and Kapil Sibal and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah are some of the invitees. Tamil Nadu ruling party DMK is likely to be represented by MP Tiruchi Shiva. Nawab Malik has tweeted the list of leaders and eminent personalities who are expected to attend this meeting. The “eminent persons” from various fields include retired Justice A.P. Singh, poet Javed Akhtar, K.T.S. Tulsi, Ashutosh, former election commissioner S.Y. Qureshi, lawyer Colin Gonsalves and journalists Karan Thapar and Pritish Nandi.
Till the time of going to press, no Congress leader had confirmed their presence in the meeting. This meeting was seen as an attempt to “form a coalition against the ruling BJP and tame Congress”. Sharad Pawar is known for his astute politics in political circles and he has a close rapport with TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee. Kishor, known as PK, has played a crucial role in scripting the TMC’s win in the West Bengal Assembly election. Mamata Banerjee had earlier spoken about a joint Opposition coalition to challenge Modi. Though the official agenda is to “discuss the current scenario in the country”, the political strategy to check the BJP is also likely to be discussed.