Opposition parties trying to regroup

Congress is leading the initiative.

Recovering from the Lok Sabha poll setback, Opposition parties are coming together on May 31, a day after the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to sources, the Congress is leading the effort, with its leader Ahmed Patel making a round of calls inviting “like-minded” parties to come together for consultations.

“We will have to discuss the discrepancies that have come up in votes polled and votes counted. We also have to talk about the floor strategy for the upcoming Parliament session and discuss the way forward,” a senior Opposition leader said.

The only consolation for the Opposition is that with the addition of 23 members of the Dravida Munnetra Kazgham (DMK), numerically, they are in a better position than they were in 2014. Along with 52 Congress members, 22 of the Trinamool Congress, the Opposition has 121 members in the 17th Lok Sabha.

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YSR Congress

A section of the Opposition parties has maintained that there is a need to include the YSR Congress, which, along with the Trinamool, is the fourth largest party in the house. “We should have courted YSR Congress before the results...but, even now, it’s not too late to try and get them in the Opposition block, except that the TDP (Telugu Desam Party) will be uncomfortable sharing space with them,” the Opposition leader added.

Sources said that the TDP has been invited, but the YSR Congress will not be called for the meeting.