KOLKATA/NEW DELHI: With the Presidential election set to be held on July 18, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday wrote to 22 chief ministers of non-BJP states and other opposition leaders to attend a meeting convened by her at her New Delhi residence on June 15 to present a joint strategy.
In the letter, Mamata called for a strong and effective opposition comprising “all progressive forces” to resist the “divisive force”. She said the meeting is to discuss strategies for a “fruitful confluence” of opposition voices.
“At a time when our democracy is going through troubling times, I believe that a fruitful confluence of opposition votes is the need of the hour to echo the deprived and unrepresented communities,” she wrote.
Mamata’s move, coming days after Congress leader Sonia Gandhi reached out to Opposition leaders on fielding a common presidential candidate, is being seen as an attempt by her to take a lead role in the negotiations. Mamata is trying “to tell the Congress that it can’t be the leading force for the opposition coalition.
The invite has been sent to opposition parties -- AAP, YSRCP, and TRS -- that the Congress may not be willing to ally with,” said an opposition leader. Sonia is one of the invitees for the meeting- a significant development given that relations between the Congress and TMC had soured ahead of the recent Goa Assembly elections.
MOVE AIMED AT LEAD ROLE
Mamata’s move, coming days after Sonia reached out to Opposition leaders on fielding a common candidate, is being seen as an attempt by her to take a lead role in the negotiations