Aam Aadmi Party to take part in joint opposition meeting in Bengaluru to take place on 17-18 July

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will attend a meeting of opposition parties in Bengaluru to chalk out a joint strategy to take on the BJP unitedly in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, party leader Raghav Chadha announced on Sunday.

“Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal will take part in the meeting of like-minded parties in Bengaluru on July 17-18,” said AAP MP Raghav Chadha.

After a meeting of the AAP's highest decision making body -- political affairs committee (PAC) -- at party national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence here, Chadha also welcomed the Congress' decision to oppose in Parliament the Centre's ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi.

The AAP had earlier said it would join the meeting in Bengaluru only if the Congress extended its support to the AAP in opposing the Delhi ordinance in Parliament.

After the PAC deliberations, Chadha announced that the AAP under the leadership of Kejriwal will participate in the opposition meeting in Bengaluru, beginning with a dinner on Monday.

The opposition meet in Bengaluru is scheduled with the purpose of uniting the opposition to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party in the upcoming general assembly polls in 2024.

Top leaders of at least 24 political parties would attend the second Opposition unity meeting being convened by Congress in Bengaluru.

Significantly, a mega opposition meeting was held in Bihar's Patna on June 23.

The AAP asked Congress to clear its stand on the centre's ordinance, which was brought by the central government regarding the transfer and posting of group-A officers in Delhi.

After the first Opposition meeting, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had said that unless the Congress publicly denounced the ordinance it would be “very difficult” for it to be a part of any coalition that includes the grand old party.

Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal on Sunday said that the party’s stand on the same is ‘very clear’ and it is going to oppose it in the parliament.

"Congress' stand on this is very clear, we will oppose it," Venugopal said while speaking to ANI.

*With agency inputs