New Delhi: To present a united face against the BJP-led NDA, which has made inroads almost all the states in the country, an all opposition party meeting has been called by former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Thursday to firm up strategies for the forthcoming general election.
Sources said that the meeting is likely to be attended by senior party members of all opposition parties. However, there is an uncertainty over NCP's attendance, sources added.
The members will discuss various crucial issues on which a united strategy is being sought. The meeting will be held on Thursday afternoon, tentatively after the Union Budget is presented in the Parliament.
It learnt that Sonia personally called up Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee to request her to attend the crucial meeting.
Though the Bengal CM won't be able to attend due to prior commitments, the party will be represented by senior parliamentarians Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Derek O'Brien.
Gandhi is also expected to host a dinner for top opposition leaders next month. It is unclear whether the TMC chief will be in attendance.
Meanwhile, the political observers have started speculating over the absence of the TMC chief from various platforms on the proposed "United Opposition". Mamata has emerged as one the strongest voices against the Modi dispensation in recent times, so in any formation of Opposition leaders, the Bengal chief minister would logically occupy a pride of place.
TMC leader and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien asserted that only someone with impeccable credentials can be the leader of a united Opposition. "One must have the experience of being a state Chief Minister, Parliamentarian or a former Parliamentarian. Moreover, anyone who would lead the united opposition should have had a stint as a cabinet minister in the Centre."
Meanwhile, veteran Congress leader M Veerappa Moily said on Tuesday that Sonia Gandhi continues to be the UPA chairperson because of her ability to pull the allies together.
There were speculations on whether Rahul Gandhi would step into the position after he recently became the Congress president, a post held by his mother Sonia Gandhi for 19 years.