New Delhi: Top leaders from the opposition ranks will descend on Delhi on Sunday to participate in the I.N.D.I.A alliance protest rally against the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal as the opposition prepares to use the occasion as a show of unity after a false start in building an anti-BJP front for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Apart from the AAP leadership, leaders expected to attend the rally include Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi. From Maharashtra, both Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray have reportedly confirmed their presence.
Over the last three months, the I.N.D.I.A. alliance has faced repeated setbacks in stitching a credible national alternative to the NDA after defections by key constituents like Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. In some states like West Bengal, Congress and Trinamool Congress have decided to go solo.
However, for the Sunday gathering, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has indicated sending in a representative. Party leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O’Brian is expected to share the dais with Congress and Left leaders even though the parties field candidates against one another in Bengal.
The opposition has been accusing the ruling BJP of using central agencies like CBI and ED for political purposes, and Kejriwal’s arrest has emerged as a rallying point for the loosely coupled I.N.D.I.A bloc to build a campaign around this narrative.
Other leaders invited for the show of strength include Jharkhand CM Champai Soren, Punjab CM and AAP leader Bhagwant Mann, former state CM Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren, former Bihar deputy CM Tejaswi Yadav, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, D Raja from CPI, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, CPI(ML) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya, Trichy Shiva of DMK and G Devrajan of Forward Bloc.
The AAP has received clearance from the Delhi police for the Sunday rally at Ramlila Maidan.
(Published 29 March 2024, 12:57 IST)
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