24 parties invited to Oppn’s Bengaluru meet; Sonia to attend

New Delhi, July 12

Leaders of 24 non-BJP parties have been invited to the Opposition’s meet to be held in Bengaluru on June 17 and 18. The first meet, which was held in Patna, saw the participation of 15 parties.

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi is also expected to attend a dinner meeting on July 17. There will be a more structured formal meeting the next day, where the Opposition front would further strategise its plans to take on the BJP in the next Lok Sabha polls.

Sources said the MDMK, KDMK, VCK, RSP, Forward Bloc, IUML, Kerala Congress (Joseph) and Kerala Congress (Mani) are among the political parties that will join the second Opposition meeting. A senior Opposition leader said he had received an invite from the Congress president to attend the meeting. The 24 parties together have around 150 Lok Sabha members currently and are seeking to expand their base.