Kejriwal, Naidu want to fast track opposition alliance to take on BJP

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Updated: Feb 18, 2019 22:53 IST

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu at the latter’s Undavalli residence in Amaravati on Monday to discuss a pre-poll alliance of opposition parties for the Lok Sabha elections.

At the meeting which lasted more than 90 minutes, both the leaders agreed to prioritise a pre-poll alliance on the agenda at the meeting of opposition parties scheduled in Delhi on February 26.

Also read: ‘Tyranny of dictator’: Arvind Kejriwal’s pitch for opposition unity ahead of rally

Kejriwal came to Amaravati after meeting Puducherry chief minister V Narayanaswamy earlier in the day to express solidarity with him in his fight against Lt Governor Kiran Bedi.

Over 20 opposition parties involving regional and national players like Congress and Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress met in Delhi recently with Naidu as a fulcrum. But a formal opposition alliance is yet to materialise.

Sources said that during the meeting with Kejriwal, Naidu proposed to hold an opposition summit in the first week of March and called up leaders from different parties to find out their availability. The TDP supremo also plans to stage an anti-BJP dharna like the one Mamata Benerjee staged in Kolkata in the first week of February.

Read more: Ahead of Opposition show of strength, Chandrababu Naidu sketches broad contours of alliance

Sources at the chief minister’s office said Naidu and Kejriwal proposed to entrust the job of preparing common minimum programme (CMP) to Congress president Rahul Gandhi. They also underlined the need to iron out differences within the opposition camp and build the alliance as a formidable force to put up a united fight against the BJP-led NDA.