New Delhi: After repeatedly attacking the Congress during the course of the election campaign, BSP supremo Mayawati is likely to meet UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Monday as efforts to form an anti-NDA bloc gather pace ahead of the Lok Sabha election result on May 23.
The two sides have been brought together by Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, who has recently held a flurry of meetings with opposition leaders to rally support for a grand alliance. Naidu had met Rahul Gandhi, Mayawati and her alliance partner – Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav - on Saturday.
Bringing on board the BSP chief in the alliance would be a major boost for the joint opposition. Earlier, there had been reports that Mayawati was not keen on any meeting before the declaration of the result.
Mayawati, although had earlier on been a part of the opposition meetings, had decided to keep the Congress out of the gathbandhan in Uttar Pradesh, dealing a major blow to the grand old party’s prospects in the crucial state. She has also lately been open about her ambitions to occupy the PM’s post, and has received backing from Akhilesh Yadav.
But even when she attacked the Congress, she was careful of not taking on the Gandhis directly, and had even asked the gathbandhan support base to vote for Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi in Amethi and Rae Bareli respectively.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha results, the opposition parties have been regrouping to formulate a strategy in case the NDA falls short of the majority mark and there is a need to stake claim to form the government quickly.
News18 had earlier reported that Sonia Gandhi has now taken on the mantle of forming the grand coalition and is likely to host a meeting of all major stakeholders in the opposition either on the day of the result or the day after.
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