In Andhra, first phase of oppn unity show

NEW DELHI: Opposition leaders, who have joined ranks to take on the BJP-led NDA in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, have decided to lend support to each other on the ground with joint campaigns in their respective states to send a message of ‘unity and common agenda’ to the voters.


“It is important for the positive message to go out rather than campaigning being limited to attacking BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said a senior leader of an Opposition party. The idea is to jointly expose BJP’s failures in various states while showcasing the unity among opposition parties, said another leader.

Dates and venues are being finalised for joint campaigns, keeping in mind the engagements of the top leaders and election schedules across states.

The first port of call for the opposition leaders is likely to be Andhra Pradesh where chief of ruling Telegu Desam Party Chandrababu Naidu faces simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state assembly in the first phase itself.

While National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah has been camping in Andhra since Monday to campaign in

Kurnool

and Kadapa districts, Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will be in Vishakhapatnam on March 31.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will reach Vijayawada on March 28. On March 31, he will attend a joint rally with Naidu and Banerjee at Vishakhapatnam. RJD leader and Lalu Prasad’s son Tejaswi Yadav will be campaigning in Nellore. DMK chief MK Stalin, JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda and Karnataka CM H D Kumaraswamy, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Sharad Yadav, Yaswant Sinha and Arun Shourie are among those expected to campaign in Andhra.

Initially, the opposition parties along with Congress had considered holding big joint rallies, on the lines of the one held in Kolkata on January 19, but plans have been reworked in view of elections being held over seven phases and lasting for over one and a half months.

Naidu will get free after the first phase of polling on April 11 and is expected to travel to various states to join the campaign trail.