LS polls: Oppn parties to announce pre-poll alliance, work on CMP

NEW DELHI: After a 15-party meeting at the home of Sharad Pawar, the opposition parties on Wednesday declared that they would announce a pre-poll alliance ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections and also resolved to hold talks for a common minimum programme (CMP).

"We will announce a pre-poll alliance so that there are no problems after the elections," Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said after the meeting of the opposition parties.

Banerjee also announced that the opposition parties would be united at the national level and would meet at frequent intervals in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi said that opposition parties have agreed to start a conversation on creating a common minimum programme.

"We agreed that principal target for all of us is to counter the assault on Indian institutions being carried out by Narendra Modi, BJP and the RSS," Rahul said.

At the meeting, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and AAP's Arvind Kejriwal were seen together for the first time. This gave rise to speculation that the two parties may ally for Lok Sabha polls in Delhi.

When asked about an alliance in Delhi with AAP, the Congress president said that alliances in Delhi and West Bengal were not discussed.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the opposition parties had a constructive meeting.

Andhra chief minister Chandrababu Naidu reiterated that opposition alliance was a democratic compulsion for all parties.

Earlier on Wednesday, opposition leaders gathered for the third time in less than a month in a show of unity and mounted a blistering attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, saying the two should be "ousted" in the coming elections as they are a "threat" to democracy and constitutional values.

In fiery speeches at a mega rally, Mamata Banerjee asserted the situation in the country is "more dangerous" than emergency while her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal said people should not repeat the mistake of making a "class 12 pass out" as prime minister and they should back an "educated" leader.