India Political Highlights: No decision on PM candidate taken at Oppn meet, says Stalin

In Patna, Kharge urged the Opposition parties to give up on their differences to save democracy, while Rahul Gandhi flagged an ongoing battle of ideology - Bharat Jodo vs Bharat Todo - in the country, as top Opposition leaders met to decide their strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Following the meeting, Opposition leaders announced a united fight against the BJP, and stated that another meeting would be held in Shimla in a few weeks' time. Here are today's top political stories.

I want to be Karnataka BJP president, says Somanna

Senior BJP leader V Somanna on Friday said he wants to lead the saffron party in Karnataka and claimed that he is best suited to galvanise the unit after its drubbing in the Assembly election.

Somanna's public claim to become the BJP state president is an indicator that the position could be up for grabs with the party top brass looking to replace the incumbent Nalin Kumar Kateel.

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BJP's Sushil Modi highlights fissures in Opposition 'unity'

No decision on PM candidate taken at Oppn meet, says Stalin

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, upon returningto Chennai from the mega Opposition meet in Patna on Friday, said that a prime ministerial candidate had not been finalised at the meeting.

"No decision taken on PM candidate at Patna Opposition parties' meet," Stalin was quoted as saying by PTI.

'Selfish' Oppn alliance will deprive India of economic growth, says Smiriti Irani on Patna meet

After the conclusion of the mega Opposition meet in Patna where leaders from at least 15 parties announced that they would fight the 2024 Lok Sabha elections unitedly, Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani on Friday slammed the alliance, saying it would deprive India of the growth under the Modi govt.

Despite differences, Oppn has come together to save diversity, integrity of India, says Uddhav

Constitution, secularism, democracy under attack across India, says Mehbooba Mufti after Oppn meet

Oppn's united front will get people's blessings, says NCP chief Sharad Pawar

Let our blood flow, but we will protect India, says Mamata in warcry ahead of 2024 LS polls

If Modi govt wins again, it'll be the last election in India, says Mamata after Oppn meet

Mamata reaffirms at least 15 Opposition parties will fight LS polls together

Oppn working with flexibility to iron out differences, says Cong leader Rahul

"Like Mallikarjun Kharge and Nitish Kumar said, we will take this discussion to more depth in the next meeting. The Opposition unity is a process, which will move onwards from here.We may have some differences but have decided to work together with flexibility to protect our ideology," Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was quoted as saying by news agency PTI, after the end of the Opposition meet in Patna.

AAP hails 11 parties for supporting stand on Centre's ordinance, slams Cong's silence

Oppn decided to 'fight elections together' in 'good meeting', says Bihar CM Nitish

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, following the conclusion of the megan Opposition meeting in Patna, said that at least 15 parties have decided to fight 2024 Lok Sabha polls together.

Rahul speaks the 'language of China', says BJP on 'Bharat Todo' remark

TN CM Stalin leaves for Chennai after conclusion of Oppn meet

Mega Opposition meet in Patna concludes

The mega Opposition meet in Patna hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday ended perhaps earlier than expected, with news agency ANI reporting that it had concluded.

Details about developments in the meet are awaited.

Assam CM holds rally to mark 9 years of the Modi govt

Public knows BJP doing politics in name of religion, says Gehlot on Manipur violence

Commenting on the ongoing violence in Manipur, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot on Friday slammed the BJP, saying that the public was well aware that the saffron party was doing politics in the name of religion.

Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar with RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the opposition parties' meeting, in Patna, Friday, June 23, 2023. Credit: PTI Photo

Congress seeking support since it can't defeat PM Modi alone: BJP on Opposition meet in Patna

The BJP on Friday derided the opposition parties' efforts to forge a front against it and said the Congress was seeking the support of others because it was "incapable of defeating Prime Minister Narendra Modi alone" in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Top leaders of Opposition parties went into a huddle in Patna on Friday to chalk out a roadmap for the formation of an anti-BJP front for next year's general elections. The meeting was hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the JD(U) and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD.(PTI)

A total of 32 leaders from 15 parties are attending the joint Opposition meeting in Patna.

Telangana minister KTR Rao blames Congress, BJP for problems in country

Nitish Kumar presides over Opposition meet with Kharge, Lalu seated on either side

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is presidingover the Opposition parties meeting, which is under way in Patna, flanked on either side by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad.

Leaders of more than a dozen Opposition political parties sat inside a sprawling conference room to chalk out a joint strategy to defeat BJP in the Lok Sabha poll in 2024.

Leaders jailed by Indira Gandhi welcoming Rahul: Nadda on Opposition meet

BJP president J P Nadda on Friday said that leaders who were jailed by former prime minister Indira Gandhi during Emergency were now welcoming her grandson Rahul Gandhi.

The BJP leader was referring to the Opposition meeting in Patna which was organised by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and attended by his ally RJD supremo Lalu Prasad. Both were arrested during the Emergency when they were student leaders participating in the movement of Jay Prakash Narayan.

List of Opposition leaders who are present at the Patna meet:

1. Nitish Kumar (JDU)
2. Mamata Banerjee (AITC)
3. MK Stalin (DMK)
4. Mallikarjun Kharge (INC)
5. Rahul Gandhi (INC)
6. Arvind Kejriwal (AAP)
7. Hemant Soren (JMM)
8. Uddhav Thackeray (SS-UBT)
9. Sharad Pawar (NCP)
10. Lalu Prasad Yadav (RJD)
11. Bhagwant Mann (AAP)
12. Akhilesh Yadav (SP)
13. Sitaram Yechury (CPIM)
14. Omar Abdullah (NC)
15. TR Baalu (DMK)
16. Mehbooba Mufti (PDP)
17. Dipankar Bhattacharya (CPIML)
18. Tejashwi Yadav (RJD)
19. KC Venugopal (INC)
20. Abhishek Banerjee (AITC)
21. Derek O’Brien (AITC)
22. Aaditya Thackeray (SS-UBT)
23. D Raja (CPI)
24. Supriya Sule (NCP)
25. Manoj Jha (RJD)
26. Firhad Hakim (AITC)
27. Praful Patel (NCP)
28. Raghav Chaddha (AAP)
29. Sanjay Singh (AAP)
30. Sanjay Raut (SS-UBT)
31. Lalan Singh (JDU)
32. Sanjay Jha (JDU)

As Opposition huddles to unite, BJP says 'thagbandhan' leaders gathered for personal gains

"They (Opposition leaders) are forming 'thagbandhan'. They don't like each other and want the public to like them," said MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Opposition meeting in Patna.

Meanwhile,BJP leader RP Singh said,"Neither they have a strategy nor they have a leader, they have only gathered for their personal gains."

Crucial Opposition unity meet under way to take on BJP in Lok Sabha elections

"This is a meeting of family-ism, nepotism and corrupt people. This is not going to make any difference, next time PM Modi will cross 400," said West Bengal LoP Suvendu Adhikari.

'Bharat Jodo' vs 'Bharat Todo': Rahul Gandhi flags ongoing war of ideology in country

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said all Opposition parties are going to defeat the BJP in the 2024 general elections unitedly.

Accusing the BJP of working to "divide India and spread hate and violence", he asserted that a fight of ideologies is going on in India.

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JUST IN | Opposition leaders' meeting to chalk out a joint strategy to take on BJP in next year's Lok Sabha elections begins in Patna.

Smriti Irani 'thanks' Congress for accepting they cannot alone defeat PM Modi

The BJP continued to attack the Congress ahead of the crucial Opposition unity meet in Patna. Union Minister Smriti Irani on Friday "thanked" the grand old party for publicly announcing that they cannot alone defeat PM Modi.

"I especially thank Congress for publicly announcing that they cannot alone defeat PM Modi and that they need the support of others to do so," said Irani.

"We welcome this initiative of Opposition unity. But it is imperative to include Bahujan Samaj Party in the meeting, given their support base across the country," said SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar.

Meanwhile, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has left from Patna Circuit House to attend the crucial Opposition meeting.

Decision on Delhi ordinance issue will be taken before Monsoon Session, says Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said a decision on whether to oppose the Centre's ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi would be taken before the Parliament session.

His remarks come a day after theAAP's ultimatumthat it will walk out of the Opposition meeting in Patna if the Congress does not promise its support over the issue.

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AAP MP Raghav Chadha reached Patna to attend the Opposition's unity meeting.

"The BJP is spreading hatred and dividing the country. Congress is working towards uniting the country and spreading love," said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Patna.

Only love can beat hate, that's why we talk of love, says Rahul, adds that Opposition will jointly defeat BJP

We will win Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and BJP will be nowhere to be seen. We will win because we stand with the poor, saidCongress leader Rahul Gandhi. "BJP is working to spread hate, violence and break the country. We are working to spread love and unite. Opposition parties have come here today and together we will defeat BJP," he said.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) president and former Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav reached Bihar's Patna to attend the Opposition meet on unity.

Bharat Jodo vs Bharat Todo, Rahul Gandhi flags battle of ideology in India

"There is a battle of ideology going on in India. On one side is Congress' 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', on the other side is BJP-RSS' 'Bharat Todo Yatra'. We have come here because the Congress party's DNA is in Bihar," said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Patna.

"BJP is spread hatred and diving the country. Congress is working towards uniting the country and spreading love," Gandhi added.

Kharge urges Oppn parties to give up on their differences to save democracy

"I request everyone to give up on their differences and get united to save the democracy," said Congress Presdient Mallikarjun Kharge in Patna.

He said that all Congress leaders must be united and fight 2024 elections keeping aside differences.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and leader Rahul Gandhi arrived at party office in Patna.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury reaches Patna for Opposition meeting

Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury has reachedPatna to attend the Opposition leaders' meeting.More than 15 opposition parties are meeting today to chalk out a joint strategy to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Congress leaders welcome party president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi as they arrive in Bihar's Patna to attend the Opposition leaders' meeting.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi have arrived in Bihar's Patna for the Opposition leaders' meeting.

Opposition Meet | Vision first, Leader later

After nearly 10 years of rule, the Narendra Modi government’s credibility is on the decline, and the Opposition has smelled blood. It is against this background that the meeting of18 Opposition parties is taking place on June 23.

The unity and integrity of India has been left weakened because of socially divisive policies and erosion of democratic freedoms. The intensifiedalienationof Kashmir, theslicing away of part of Eastern Ladakh by China,uncontrollable civil violence in Manipur, and theclumsy handling of molestation chargesby female wrestlers against the former chairman of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), and a BJP MP, are indicative of this.

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Ahead of mega meet, BJP takes a dig at Oppn with posters showing Rahul Gandhi as 'Devdas of real life'

As Opposition leaders take the Bihar route to design the 'first draft' of unity, the BJP put up postersoutside its party office in Patna taking a jibe atCongress leader Rahul Gandhi.

They portrayedCongress leader Rahul Gandhi as 'Devdas of real life' in the posters put up outside their office.

Everyone coming here to solve their own problems, says BLP MLA

First they should decide who is the actual PM contender among all those who are coming for the Opposition meeting in Patna... Everyone is coming here to solve their own problems, said BJP MLA Jeevesh Mishra.

Democracy gets strengthened when the Opposition unites, says RJD leader Alok Kumar Mehta

This meeting is part of India's democratic system. Democracy gets strengthened when the Opposition unites... Whenever the Opposition has fought, it has fought under collective leadership. Our leader will be chosen when elections are held, said RJD leader Alok Kumar Mehta.

Watch | JMM workers celebrate outside Patna airport to welcome Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren who will be participating in the opposition meeting later today.

As Uddhav heads to Bihar for Oppn meet, MNS takes a dig

BJP trying to counter effects of Opposition meeting in Bihar

As the stage is set for the Opposition meet in Patna, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders sought to downplay the gathering, and said that the allegations of corruption against Opposition leaders will mar the proceedings.

Former Bihar deputy chief minister and Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Modi said that this is the first time that corruption allegations have been levelled against the Opposition and not the ruling party. “This is an exercise that is undertaken before every election – in 1989, there were allegations of corruption against the ruling Rajiv Gandhi government for the Bofors scam, and in 1977, a key point for the Janata merger was the fight against corruption. But this time, they have no big corruption allegation against the ruling party,” Modi toldDH.

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Manipur issue will also be discussed, says NCP chief Sharad Pawar before leaving for Patna.

"We are meeting to discuss some important issues of the country and decide the future course of action. Manipur issue will also be discussed," he said.

Meanwhile, former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aaditya Thackeray have also left for Patna to attend the mega Opposition meeting later today.

Our agenda is to remove BJP government, says Kharge ahead of Opposition meet

We all want to fight together against BJP and our agenda is to remove the BJP government... We will take a decision on this (on supporting AAP against the Centre's ordinance) before the Parliament session, says Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as he leaves for the Opposition meeting in Bihar's Patna.

National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah arrives in Bihar's Patna to attend the Opposition leaders' meeting.

If all parties will fight unitedly, BJP will be reduced to 100 seats, says Bihar Congress chief

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has left for Patna from his residence in Delhi to attend the Opposition meeting.

Opposition leaders to kick-start 'Mission 2024' with Patna huddle, Mamata says will 'fight like family'

Top leaders of Opposition parties will meet here on Friday to chalk out a roadmap for the formation of an anti-BJP front for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asserting that they will fight together "like a family" to take on the NDA "one to one".

Sources said the Opposition parties would look to avoid the prickly leadership question as of now and emphasize on building a common ground.(PTI)

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M KStalin reached Patna on Thursday for the mega meeting of the opposition parties which will be held at the Bihar Chief Minister's residence, 1 Anne Marg, on Friday. Credit: PTI Photo

What's the purpose of today's Opposition meet in Bihar?

A senior leader told DH that they will have “preliminary” discussions on how to take their fight against the ruling BJP forward in states. He described the meeting as one that will prepare the “first draft” for the united fight but warned against expecting a “big ticket announcement” like seat sharing or state level coalitions.

“We all are meeting with a purpose. Please keep in mind this is only the first meeting and not the last meeting,” the leader said. Sources said the parties are likely to issue a joint statement of intent after the meeting, which would outline the priorities of the group.

However, Kejriwal has upped the ante days before the meeting demanding that the contentious Delhi ordinance be taken up first for discussion at the meeting.

Who are expected to attend the meeting?

The meeting hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would see the participation of top leaders like Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress’ Mamata Banerjee, DMK’s MK Stalin, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Uddhav Thackeray, NCP’s Sharad Pawar, CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury, AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal and RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav.

JMM’s Hemant Soren, SP’s Akhilesh Yadav, CPI’s D Raja and National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah will join the meeting that will also be attended by party chiefs of CPI(M-L)L,RSP, Muslim League, Kerala Congress (Mani) and VCK.

Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi will visit the Congress office in Patna and address the party workers at 10 am today.

All eyes on Opposition meeting in Patna today

All eyes are on the Opposition meeting in Patna today.Top Opposition leaders will meet to prepare the “first draft” of their united fight against the BJP in the 2024 elections, an exercise that has been seen as a parallel to a call for unity from the Bihar capital 48 years ago that led to the Emergency and subsequent fall of Indira Gandhi.

The meeting of leaders from at least 18 parties comes two days ahead of the anniversary of the infamous declaration of Emergency that curtailed democratic rights but led to an unprecedented unity among the then opposition and their fight leading to the defeat of the Congress government.

AAP threatens to skip Opposition meet if Congress doesn't assure support against Centre's ordinance

AAP appears to be putting a spanner on the Opposition meeting here on Friday by threatening to walk out from the deliberations if Congress refuses to promise it's against the Centre's ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi.

AAP sources said party supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is likely to put this condition in the meeting, as the Congress so far has not committed its support owing to the pushback from its Delhi and Punjab units.

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Congress pays tribute to former Himachal CM

If all opposition parties will get united then BJP's political shop will be closed, says JDU's Neeraj Kumar

All leaders including Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav are united to defeat PM Modi in 2024. It's a big challenge for the BJP that if all opposition parties will get united then their political shop will be closed, says JDU's Neeraj Kumar ahead of Opposition Meeting in Bihar's Patna