In a development that offers a whiff of a 'federal front' in the making ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, veteran leader and NCP chief Sharad Pawar will host a meeting of opposition parties at his residence in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The buzz about an opposition conglomerate on the lines of the erstwhile experiments of a 'third front' had gathered momentum after Trinamool Congress's recent spectacular victory over the BJP in the assembly elections in West Bengal. Other regional players like M.K. Stalin and Pinarayi Vijayan also managed to keep the BJP out of the picture in their respective states, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, lending credence to the view that it was the non-Congress state-specific leaders who were faring better in dealing with the saffron challenge compared to the Congress.
Of interest is the detail that Tuesday's meeting will figure veteran leader Yashwant Sinha, who had, in 2018, launched Rashtra Manch, a political action group. There is speculation that the opposition parties may come on a common platform under the umbrella of the 'Rashtra Manch', much like V.P. Singh's 'Jan Morcha' in the late eighties.
Also significant to note is that Sinha, who had launched the Manch while he was still in the BJP, is now a member of the Trinamool Congress. Ever since TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee defeated an aggressive BJP despite the campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the recent assembly polls, her name is being touted as a possible contender for the role of Modi's main challenger in the next Lok Sabha elections.
According to NCP sources, the meeting, to be held at 4pm on Tuesday, will discuss the current political and economic situation in the country. It is learnt that as many as 15 parties have been invited for the meeting.
“Sharad Pawar ji and Shri Yashwant Sinha ji are co-chairing a discussion on the present national scenario. Yashwant Sinha has requested your kind presence and participation in the meeting,” reads the invite that has been sent out in the name of Rashtra Manch.
Amongst the invitees are NCP leader Majeed Memon, Sanjay Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party's Ghanshyam Tiwari and RJD's Manoj Jha.
The invitation has also been sent to D. Raja, Farooq Abdullah, Justice A.P. Singh, Javed Akhtar, K.T.S Tulsi, Karan Thapar, Ashutosh, MP Vandana Chavan, S.Y. Qureshi, K.C. Singh, Sanjay Jha, Sudheendra Kulkarni, Colin Gonsalves, and Pritish Nandi.
According to sources, a joint fight is being considered not just in the Lok Sabha elections but also in the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh which are due to be held early next year.
The news of the meeting emerged after election strategist Prashant Kishor called on Pawar on Monday. This was the second time the two have met in the last ten days.
Kishor had played an important role in crafting Mamata's campaign in the recent assembly polls, projecting her as an underdog against whom the mighty BJP had unleashed all its resources. His organisation I-PAC has now been engaged by the Trinamool up to the next state elections in 2026, and the intervening period will see the crucial Lok Sabha polls.
The Pawar-Kishor meetings had given rise to speculation if Pawar was indeed going to play an important role in bringing the opposition parties together for the next Lok Sabha elections, and if Mamata, following her electoral feat, would occupy centrestage in the arrangement. Pawar had, in the months leading up to the assembly elections in West Bengal, lent support to Mamata and was even supposed to address a rally along with her in Kolkata, but the plan could not be put into action due to COVID-19.