Andalib Akhter / New Delhi
Against the backdrop of reports in a prominent English daily on the ongoing controversy surrounding the Election Commission of India (ECI), senior leaders of the INDIA alliance are set to meet on September 30 at the Constitutional Club in New Delhi to chalk out a strategy for a nationwide agitation.
The meeting is likely to be attended by representatives of 23 parties, including former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav.
The participation of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin is also under discussion. If Stalin is unable to attend, senior DMK leader Kanimozhi is expected to represent the party at the meeting.
Meanwhile, former Union minister and former presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha is set to undertake a 12-day bus yatra from Patna to Delhi as part of the broader campaign.
The proposed meeting and the planned bus yatra come as opposition parties seek to coordinate their response to the ECI controversy and build a nationwide political mobilisation around the issue.