New Delhi: Opposition unity will be on display once again this Sunday as chief ministers of six non-BJP states and over two dozen senior opposition leaders will come together at Ranchi’s Morabadi ground for the swearing-in ceremony of Jharkhand CM-designate Hemant Soren.
The six chief ministers who are learnt to have confirmed their attendance are Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Kamal Nath (Madhya Pradesh), Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan), Bhupesh Baghel (Chhattisgarh), Uddhav Thackeray (Maharashtra) and Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi).
Nearly 25 senior opposition leaders, including former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, senior Congress leaders Ahmed Patel and P. Chidambaram, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, former Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu, former Karnataka CM H.D. Kumaraswamy, DMK’s M.K. Stalin, and leader of the opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, among others, will be present.
“So far, 30 opposition leaders have confirmed their participation in the swearing-in ceremony, which will also be attended by former President Pranab Mukherjee and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh (Narayan Singh),” said a Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader.
Non-BJP CMs had come together for a similar show of strength in May 2018 when H.D. Kumaraswamy was sworn in as the Karnataka chief minister. Opposition unity was also on display in January this year at Kolkata’s Brigade Ground at a rally called by Mamata Banerjee.
However, following the massive mandate that the BJP got in the Lok Sabha elections, the opposition lost its momentum.
In the run-up to this year’s Lok Sabha elections, leaders from all prominent opposition parties had attempted to stitch a pre-poll alliance to take on the ruling BJP.
At the forefront of the opposition alliance was Mamata Banerjee, Chandrababu Naidu, Sharad Pawar and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah.
The opposition leaders met frequently to discuss the contours of the alliance.
Giving a message of opposition unity, the leaders had even campaigned in each other’s states. Naidu had campaigned for Banerjee, while Kejriwal campaigned for Naidu.
Give me books instead of bouquets, says Soren
Ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, Soren Friday requested that he be gifted books instead of flower bouquets.
“You should write your name in the book because I plan to make a library with the books you give. This way, the gift that you give will always help enhance our knowledge,” Soren tweeted.
साथियों,
मैं अभिभूत हूँ आप झारखंडवासियों के प्यार एवं सम्मान से।
पर मैं आप सबसे एक करबद्ध प्रार्थना करना चाहूँगा, कि कृपया कर मुझे फूलों के ‘बुके’ की जगह ज्ञान से भरे ‘बुक’ मतलब अपने पसंद की कोई भी किताब दें। मुझे बहुत बुरा लगता है की मैं आपके फूलों को सम्भाल नहीं पाता।
1/2 pic.twitter.com/RXVQ7aghXW
— Hemant Soren (घर में रहें – सुरक्षित रहें) (@HemantSorenJMM) December 27, 2019
Also read: Hemant Soren could teach Congress a thing or two about fighting Narendra Modi
The Opposition was stunned by the scale of the BJP’s victory in May. However, picking up the tent pegs on unity was an irrational, slightly panicky, response. In each state, the dominant force, like CM Mamata Banerjee in Bengal, should get the unalloyed support of the others. The local unit of the Congress in the state should stop day dreaming and tag along like a very junior partner. What point would the Congress have proved by not joining the government in Maharashtra. 2. With 54 MLAs, Shri Sharad Pawar would have got a comparable slice of power from either formation. With the bonus of a slot in the Union Cabinet for his daughter. However, I think he made his choice based on his assessment of the future course of political developments.
Choro ki Barat!!!
What is interesting that Rahul Gandhi, who was away in Bangkok getting Nirvana massages, now try to get credit for a hollow victory