Ahead of Oppn leaders’ meet, Mamata calls on Sharad Pawar at his Delhi residence

New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Sharad Pawar at his residence in Delhi on Tuesday ahead of the Opposition leaders’ meeting tomorrow to discuss Presidential polls. “Our honorable chairperson @MamataOfficial met Shri @PawarSpeaks today. Two stalwart leaders set the stage for the meeting of all progressive opposition forces; set to happen tomorrow […]

New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Sharad Pawar at his residence in Delhi on Tuesday ahead of the Opposition leaders’ meeting tomorrow to discuss Presidential polls.

“Our honorable chairperson @MamataOfficial met Shri @PawarSpeaks today. Two stalwart leaders set the stage for the meeting of all progressive opposition forces; set to happen tomorrow at the Constitution Club, New Delhi. Our resolve to fight divisive forces grows stronger!” tweeted Trinamool Congress on Tuesday.

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The 81-year-old Maratha stalwart appears to be the Opposition’s consensus nominee in the July 18 presidential election.

Pawar has been one of the seniormost politicians of the country. He was a former Union minister and three-time chief minister. Pawar has been the fulcrum of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government since it was formed two-and-a-half years ago. Mamata Banerjee has convened the Opposition leaders’ meeting on June 15 in a bid to unite the opposition parties ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and prepare a joint strategy for the presidential polls. Banerjee had written a letter to 22 opposition leaders, including left parties, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Farooq Abdullah among others, urging them to attend the June 15 meeting in New Delhi.

Communist Party of India General Secretary D Raja on Tuesday said that left parties are likely to attend the meeting convened by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the national capital on Wednesday at Constitution Club to discuss the name for Opposition President candidates.

Speaking to ANI, D Raja said, “Left parties are likely to attend the meeting because left parties want all secular democratic parties, which are in opposition, to remain United. That is our concern and let us see how things are going to emerge tomorrow.” On being asked about whether the Congress wants to propose Sharad Pawar as a joint Opposition candidate for President, the CPI General Secretary further said, “I don’t know. You must ask Congress party. If the Congress party wants, then the Congress party has to explain. Congress party has not told me about this matter or left parties. I do not know that is why I am saying who is going to be the candidate? or what the other parties are thinking? nobody knows.”