Centre Calls For All-Party Meet On July 19 Ahead Of Monsoon Session

The government has called the customary all-party meeting on July 19 ahead of Parliament's Monsoon session, official sources said on Thursday.

The session, which begins from July 20, is set to be stormy with the opposition expected to target the government over a host of issues, including the ethnic clashes in Manipur and the recent train accident in Odisha.

The government calls an all-party meeting usually on the eve of every session's beginning.

The BJP and the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by it is also expected to meet before the session to finalise its strategy to take on the opposition and score political points ahead of some crucial state assembly polls.

BJP sources said the party is working to draw more parties into the NDA to counter opposition parties, around 15 of which met in Patna recently to forge unity ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2024.

While the Congress and several regional parties have been in talks to join hands to take on the BJP, the ruling alliance is also working to bolster its ranks to meet the challenge.

The BJP recently succeeded in winning over a big chunk of the NCP led by Ajit Pawar to its side besides in breaking away some leaders of smaller parties from the Bihar's ruling alliance. They include former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha.

There have also been talks about the party being in touch with the Akali Dal and the Telugu Desam Party but no final decision has been taken yet on whether these parties are joining the NDA.

However, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday termed as media speculation the buzz in political circles that his party and the BJP might reunite ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)