SONIA MAY JOIN OPPN MEET ON DEC 10, MAYA NOT CONFIRMED

NEW DELHI: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati is yet to confirm her presence at the December 10 meeting of top Opposition leaders in the Capital and given that she has “never come for such meetings, the chances of her participation are low,” a BSP leader said on the condition of anonymity.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, National Conference chairman Farooq Abdullah, Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Nationalist Congress Party patriarch Sharad Pawar, Telugu Desam chief and Andhra CM N Chandrababu Naidu, CPM’S Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D Raja, DMK chief MK Stalin, Rashtriya Janata Dal president Tejashwi Yadav, Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal (Secular), and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav are set to attend the meeting.

According to some Congress leaders, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi is likely to participate in the meeting. “Sonia-ji has attended all such meetings in the past, and this time too she is likely to attend,” one of them said on the condition of anonymity.

Interestingly, the meeting is unlikely to have a fixed agenda or a sharp focus on the 2019 elections, political leaders said on Monday.

Naidu has not clarified on the agenda of the meeting, they add, and when he called up leaders such as Yechury and Banerjee, he maintained that the meeting would simply provide a platform to explore ideas.