Opposition leaders across party lines on Monday, at a private dinner hosted by senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal, talked of the need to jointly take on the BJP and the Narendra Modi government.
And a start should be made in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, where a victory could give the Opposition much needed momentum, the leaders argued.
Several leaders, a source told The Hindu , stressed on the Congress party resolving its “internal problems” and emerging as a party that could win over 100-150 seats across the country.
Among the leaders who attended the dinner were Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) patriarch Lalu Yadav, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Sitaram Yechury of the CPI-M, D. Raja of the CPI, Omar Abdullah of National Conference, Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena, Pinaki Misra of the Biju Janata Dal, Derek O’Brien of Trinamool Congress, Tiruchi Siva of the DMK, and Naresh Gujral of the Akali Dal.
Aam Aadmi Party, Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Telugu Desam Party, YSR Congress Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal were also part of the dinner diplomacy.
Mr Misra of the BJD and Mr Gujral of Akali Dal were learnt to have been critical of Congress' leadership under the Gandhis.
The source claimed that 20 of the Congress' group of 23 dissenters (G-23) were also in attendance along with a few other senior party leaders. Senior G-23 leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor, Vivek Tankha were among those who were present as was former Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
Though the dinner was a private affair to celebrate Mr Sibal's 73rd birthday, leaders made their political observations. The ball was set rolling by Mr Sibal after making a few opening remarks about how the BJP was targeting democratic institutions.
Thereafter, he is said to have invited all the senior leaders to share their views. Mr Pawar is said to have pointed out how Congress-NCP-Sena was working together in Maharashtra and stressed on the need for Opposition unity.
Mr Yechury pointed out that Mr Sibal's official residence, 8 Teen Murti lane, used to be the home of former CPI-M general secretary Harkishan Surjeet who was one of the architects of the United Front government in mid-90s.
Mr Omar Abdullah and Mr Raut are said to have stressed on the need to make the Congress stronger by overcoming its “current problems”.
