Kejriwal, Mayawati, Mamata to skip all-party meet; Left to attend

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his West Bengalcounterpart Mamata Banerjee and BSP chief Mayawati are among the host ofOpposition leaders who will skip the all-party meeting on Wednesday on theissue of simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, DMK supremo MK Stalin will also not attend the meeting that was called by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, sources said.

   

NCP president Sharad Pawar and TDP president ChandrababuNaidu are likely to skip the meeting of party chiefs, while the Left partiesare likely to attend, sources said.

The Congress, however, is yet to take a decision on theissue.

Mayawati tweeted on Tuesday morning that said she would haveattended the all-party meeting if it was on electronic voting machines (EVMs).

According to the sources, Kejriwal would not be attendingthe meeting and the Aam Aadmi Party would be represented by party member RaghavChadha.

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi will be represented at themeeting by its working president K T Rama Rao, the son K Chandrashekar Rao.

“All the Left parties are likely to attend the meeting.We will attend and oppose the ‘one nation, one election’ issue,” a seniorLeft leader said.

On Tuesday, Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremoMamata Banerjee had also declined the invitation to attend the meeting andasked the Centre to instead prepare a white paper on the “one nation, oneelection” issue for consultations.

Leaders of UPA constituents, who had met in Parliament onTuesday evening, discussed the issue and decided that they would hold furtherdiscussions with other like-minded parties before taking a final call on thematter.

Asked whether Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will attendWednesday’s meeting convened by the prime minister, UPA chairperson SoniaGandhi said “you will know tomorrow (Wednesday)”. Rahul Gandhi evadedquestions on the issue when posed to him after the meeting in Parliament.

Modi has invited the heads of all the political parties thathave at least one member either in the Lok Sabha or in the Rajya Sabha todiscuss the issue.

Sources said that Opposition parties are weary of themeeting convened by the prime minister as they feel this might be a”trap” set by the BJP and needs proper discussion before going ahead.

The agenda for the meeting also include celebration of 75years of Independence in 2022 and the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhithis year. It will be followed by a dinner meeting with all the MPs onThursday. 

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