Mayawati to meet Rahul, Sonia; Naidu holds second round of talks with Oppn

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday held a second round of talks with top opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar, in an apparent bid to rally support for a non-BJP government at the Centre.

Meanwhile, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati is set to meet with Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi on Monday (May 20).

Naidu, who arrived in the national capital on Friday, had met Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Pawar, Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav and leaders of the Communist Party of India (CPI) on Saturday as well. He had then flew to Lucknow and met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.

Sunday’s meeting assumes significance as Naidu is meeting Gandhi and Pawar after holding talks with the SP and BSP chiefs, who have not openly come in favour of an opposition alliance so far. The TDP chief’s deliberations are part of his efforts to unite non-NDA parties and bring them together on one platform to stake their claim for next government formation in case the NDA fails to get the majority mark. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief has held several rounds of discussion with various opposition leaders, including TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, and CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury. Naidu’s TDP was part of the NDA, but quit the alliance a few months ago. The Congress and other opposition parties have exuded confidence of forming the next government.