Opposition meeting: Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and others arrive in Bengaluru

Opposition meeting: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar will be skipping the Opposition dinner today, and instead will be chairing a meeting of his party MLAs in Mumbai. He will be present at the meeting of Opposition parties planned on July 18.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and party leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday (July 17) arrived in Bengaluru. They were received by Karnataka Chief Minster Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar. 

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, West Bengal CM and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee also arrived in the city for the two-day mega meeting. Karnataka Ministers MB Patil and Lakshmi Hebbalkar received Akhilesh Yadav.

Speaking to reporters, Yadav said, "2/3rd of the population is going to defeat BJP. I hope that the people of the country will give BJP a massive defeat...I am receiving inputs from all corners of the country that the BJP will be wiped out."

As many as 24 Opposition parties are all set to attend a two-day conclave in Bengaluru starting today, where issues such as seat sharing and greater coordination and communication among the parties will be discussed. The parties will also deliberate on whether to give the grouping a formal name and draw up a common programme but they seem to be divided on both issues.

Meanwhile, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar will be skipping the Opposition dinner today, and instead will be chairing a meeting of his party MLAs in Mumbai. He will be present at the meeting of Opposition parties planned on July 18.