PATNA: Janata Dal (United) president and MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh said on Sunday that two former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti would also attend the proposed meeting of Opposition parties in Patna on June 23.
Talking to media persons on the sidelines of a 'Milan Samaroh', Singh said that senior leaders of 18 political parties have confirmed to attend the meeting to chalk out a strategy against the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"In all, leaders of 18 parties have agreed to attend the meeting. National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, both former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, have also agreed to come," said Lalan.
He said chief ministers of five states — Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi and Tamil Nadu will be present at the meeting chaired by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The meeting will also see the participation of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.
In addition, former Chief Ministers of some states, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray would also attend the meeting.
The 18 parties that have already consented to attend the meeting include Congress, RJD, JD(U), TMC, CPI, CPM, CPI-ML, SP, DMK, NCP, National Conference, PDP, AAP, HAM, Indian National Lok Dal, Shiv Sena (UBT) and JMM.
It will be the first meeting of non-BJP parties to dwell upon forging a broader unity among Opposition parties to oust the BJP from power at the centre.
Former Bihar chief minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad talked to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over the phone on Saturday and invited him to the meeting. Lalu is camping in Patna to monitor the preparations for the proposed meeting.
On Sunday, he told a select group of journalists that preparations for the Opposition parties meeting in the state capital were complete. “It will be a historic meeting against the BJP,” he said.
The meeting was earlier scheduled to be held on June 12. However, it was deferred as some leaders had expressed their inability to attend the meeting on that day due to their busy schedules on that day.
Tamil Nadu chief minister Stalin had requested to defer the date of the meeting. Moreover, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge were also not available on that day.
Last week, Nitish claimed that leaders of all Opposition parties have confirmed to attend the meeting.