Rare show of Oppn solidarity
BENGALURU: The oath- ceremony of JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday was a unique public show of Opposition unity perceived as a possible harbinger of a broadbased anti-bjp alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year.
They smiled broadly, shook hands warmly, and even embraced each other at the bonhomie-filled event to herald the advent of the Jd(s)-congress coalition government in the state amid doubts about its longevity.
Disparate in ideology but united in the intent of dislodging the Bjpled NDA from power in New Delhi, a bevy of leaders, from UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to NCP'S Sharad Pawar, from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to her arch-rival CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, attended the event. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was also one of the one high profile attendees.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati, who have sewn up an alliance in Uttar Pradesh, were among the first to arrive on stage.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who recently walked out of the NDA and is now a bitter critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's son Tejashwi Yadav, former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren of JMM, DMK chief M Karunanidhi's MP daughter Kanimozhi, and RLD leader Ajit Singh were among those present.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had flown to Bengaluru on Tuesday to congratulate Kumaraswamy.
The top leaders on the dais exuded warmth and cordiality.
Mayawati and Sonia clasped each other's hands before the BSP supremo put her arm around the UPA leader's waist.
Tejashwi, the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly touched the feet of Sonia and Mamata Banerjee as a mark of respect.
The meeting and greeting ended with the leaders posing for a group photograph, clasping each other's hands and raising them in a show of solidarity.
Ahead of the ceremony, N Chandrababu Naidu and Mamata Banerjee called upon all regional parties to come together on a common platform to strengthen federalism.
"We will keep in touch with all the regional parties so that we can work for the development of the nation, development of the people and development of the federal setup also," Banerjee said.
"I met Mamata ji and we all have come here to witness the swearingin ceremony of Kumaraswamy. He is from a regional party and we are very happy that he has become the chief minister of Karnataka," he said.
When asked whether the coming together of leaders of so many non-bjp parties heralded a common front against the BJP and NDA, Naidu said, "We want to promote more and more regional parties. We want to strengthen (regional parties).
That is Mamata ji's and our party's mission and that's how we are working."