Opposition meet in Bengaluru: Sharad Pawar to attend on July 18

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar, battling a crisis in his party, will attend the meeting of Opposition parties in Bengaluru on Tuesday (July 18), a party spokesperson said.

Sharad Pawar has decided to attend the meeting of Opposition parties in Bengaluru tomorrow. He will go there irrespective of what is happening in Mumbai, NCP chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said on Monday.

Top leaders of 26 Opposition parties are set to brainstorm in Bengaluru on Tuesday and are likely to start the work on a common minimum programme and announce a joint agitational plan to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Also read: Amid Opposition unity, BJP reviving NDA ‘ghost’, says Congress

Notably, Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs of NCP loyal to him joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra on July 2.

While Ajit Pawar was sworn in as deputy chief minister, the eight other MLAs took oath as ministers.

Ajit Pawar was subsequently allocated the key finance portfolio while his camp managed to bag heavyweight ministries like Cooperation and Agriculture.

Also read: Ahead of Opposition meet, Yechury rules out Left-TMC alliance in Bengal

Nearly two weeks after he joined the state government, Ajit Pawar, along with 15 MLAs of NCP, met Sharad Pawar on Monday in Mumbai and asked him to ensure the party stays united.

It was the second meeting of Ajit Pawar with his political mentor and uncle in two days.