Kejriwal To Meet Mamata Banerjee In Kolkata Amid Tussle With Centre And Attempts At Opposition Unity

Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener, is set to meet West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata today (Tuesday, May 23) amid his ongoing dispute with BJP-led Centre.

Notably, TMC is arranging the meeting as a step towards unifying non-Congress Opposition parties before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. TMC insiders suggest that the meeting may result in a "new formula of Opposition unity" where regional parties will come together to set the terms for the Congress before the 2024 elections, reports Indian Express.

This comes after Kejriwal recently sought support to defeat an ordinance by the Centre for a new authority to recommend transfers and postings of Delhi government officers.

Aiming for a vast opposition collaboration to fight BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, several regional parties have launched an attempt. Notably, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has already met with Congress leaders in Delhi twice this month, the latest being yesterday (Monday, May 22).

Following the Congress' against BJP in the recently-concluded Karnataka Assembly elections and bolstered hopes for the upcoming national polls, Mamata Banerjee expressed her party's willingness to support Congress in regions where it has a stronghold. However, in return, she demanded that Congress must also support other political parties.

Reportedly, Kejriwal will visit Mumbai after Kolkata to meet with NCP president Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. The purpose of the visit is to seek support against the Centre’s ordinance.