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It is now an open turf war in the Opposition with TMC leader Mamata Banerjee claiming that the the UPA, in which she was the cabinet minister of Railways under Manmohan Singh, is now non-existent. With this, the Congress will have a tough time to retain the leadership of the Opposition.
However, the Congress insists that no front can come up without it. "It is a dream if someone thinks it can fight the BJP alone," Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said. Though the TMC has charted its own course and maintained a distance from the Opposition meetings, the surprise entry is the TRS which has often been seen with the government and was a fence-sitter. Its leader K Keshav Rao has now joined the meetings called by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress. The change of heart is due to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) asserting itself in the state, becoming the main rival in Telangana. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday met NCP leader Sharad Pawar and said that no United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is left now and all the like-minded Opposition parties must unitedly fight the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Banerjee discussed the strategy for all Opposition parties to take on the BJP unitedly in the next elections. Pawar, who met Banerjee along with his senior party leaders, said that they held a long discussion on various political issues. "We agreed upon the need to strengthen the collective efforts and commitment towards safeguarding democratic values and ensuring the betterment of the people," he said. The meeting was the prime political highlight of Banerjee's two-day Mumbai trip when Shiv Sena leaders, MP Sanjay Raut and Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aditya Thackeray called on her. However, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray could not meet her as he is currently convalescing after a spine surgery last month. --IANS miz/bg ( 326 Words) 2021-12-01-19:13:41 (IANS)
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