United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has called a meeting of party top brass on May 22, a day before the counting of the mega battle of ballots. Reportedly all the General Secretaries, state ‘in-charges’ along with top leadership of the party have been asked to attend the meeting where the grand old party will finalize the strategy for opposition meet slated for May 23.
Congress in the meeting is expected to muster strategies to rope in non-NDA parties for the May 23 meeting so that it can stake a claim in case the ruling party failed to reach the magical number.
Party is expected to task its top leaders to talk to other parties. Congress Stalwart Ahmed Patel along with other top leadership has been tasked to talk to YSR Congress, BJD and KCR’s TRS. The grand old party is leaving no stone unturned to make the alliance meeting successful.
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UPA Chairperson is understood to have invited leaders of secular parties including NCP chief
Sharad Pawar, DMK chief MK Stalin, RJD Tejashwi Yadav, and Trinamool Congress Supremo Mamata Banerjee for the May 23 meeting. Reportedly SP–BSP Chiefs is expected to be a big face in the opposition meeting.
However, as reports suggest that Telangana Chief K Chandrashekhar Rao and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of YSR Congress have also been invited for the May 23 meeting. They both are yet to confirm their attendance for the meeting.
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has recently met Kerala Chief Minister
Pinarayi Vijayan and DMK chief M K Stalin as part of his efforts to form a third front
government.
Sources within the Congress claim party is confident that the ruling BJP is not getting a majority and hence wanted to put in place a front to keep BJP out of power from the Centre.
General elections are being held in seven phases and will conclude on May 19. Counting for the mega battle of ballots will be held on May 23. Both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress are eyeing the regional parties and their support to make their road easy.
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