Opposition parties to meet on Dec 10 in Delhi

New Delhi, Dec 3 (IANS) Preparing the pitch for a 'Mahagatbandhan' (Grand Alliance) ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, opposition parties will meet here on December 10, a day before Parliament opens its winter session and the results of Assembly elections in five states are known.

The driving force behind the gathering is Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who has been making efforts to put together an anti-BJP front after walking out of the Modi government.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former Union Minister Sharad Yadav, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav and leaders of other opposition parties are likely to attend the meeting to be held at Constitution Club in the heart of Delhi.

The meeting will focus on the form and structure of the proposed opposition alliance and a course of action to take forward the initiative.

A plan of action is likely to be drafted to fight the Modi government over its alleged anti-people policies like misuse of institutions like RBI, CBI, CVC and the Income Tax department to settle scores with political rivals, an opposition leader told IANS.

He said the meeting would also discuss on the sidelines how to corner the government in Parliament on issues related to farmers, demonetisation and the controversial Rafale deal.

TDP chief Naidu has met Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party's Sharad Pawar, DMK's M.K. Stalin, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Farooq Abdullah, former Prime Minister and Janata Dal-Secular chief H.D. Deve Gowda and Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati.

The meeting comes a day ahead of the vote count of Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Rajasthan and Mizoram.

The elections are being dubbed the semifinal of next year's general elections.

Last week, opposition leaders gathered here at a farmers rally. The Congress President and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal shared the stage together and accused the Modi government of plunging the country into an acute agrarian crisis.