Congress' Maharashtra unit prepares for INDIA’s Mumbai Conclave in early September

Mumbai, July 28 (IANS) The third national Opposition parties’ next INDIA conclave shall be held in Mumbai in the first week of September, Congress' Maharashtra unit President Nana Patole said on Friday.

"All preparations are going on in full swing for the meeting, the third after Patna and Bengaluru… Over 100 prominent leaders of the national opposition parties, plus Chief Ministers, Deputy CMs, ministers, and others are expected to converge here," he said.

Earlier, top leaders of the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party, including the latter's President Sharad Pawar held a detailed meeting to finalise various aspects of the upcoming INDIA Mumbai meet.

Present from the NCP side were Pawar, Jayant Patil, Rohit Pawar, Sunil Bhusara, Shashikant Shinde, and the Congress was represented by Patole, Balasaheb Thorat, M. Arif Naseem Khan, Prithviraj Chavan, and Sangram Thopate.

Later, Chavan said that the INDIA meet is being planned for September 1-3, and other party leaders said the venue for the third Opposition gathering will be decided soon.

Simultaneously, Pawar had a telephonic discussion on the issue with Shiv Sena-UBT President and ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray on the preparations for the INDIA 3.0.

Patole said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s joint rallies – which were suspended due to the intense summer and now the heavy monsoon – will resume soon after the rainy season. He added that there has been no discussions on seat-sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha or Maharashtra Assembly polls, but the three parties will hammer it out later.