Twenty-two politicians are expected to attend a huge opposition meeting in Delhi next week, convened by Mamata Banerjee before of the presidential election. Among those attending are Congress President Sonia Gandhi and the chief ministers of eight non-BJP-ruled states, including Arvind Kejriwal of Delhi and Pinarayi Vijayan of Kerala.

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In a statement issued ahead of the conference, the Congress stated, “We owe it to our people to elect a president who can apply a healing touch to the fractured social fabric and defend our Constitution.” The BJP has also been assailed by the party.

“The time is ripe to rise above our differences for the sake of our nation and its people. Discussions have to be open-minded and in keeping with this spirit. We believe that the Congress along with other political parties should be taking this discussion forward,” according to PTI, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

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The party statement comes only days after Sonia Gandhi met with former cabinet minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar before the presidential election on July 18. The term of President Ram Nath Kovind expires on July 24.

“The Congress Party is of the opinion that the nation needs a person as president who can protect the Constitution, our institutions and citizenry from the ongoing onslaught by the ruling party. This is the need of the hour,” the party said in a statement on Saturday. 

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The Trinamool announced Mamata Banerjee‘s June 15 meeting “with an initiative of strong and effective opposition against the divisive forces.” She has “reached out to the opposition CMs and leaders to participate in a joint meeting,” according to the statement.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Maharastra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Thiru MK Stalin, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann have all been invited. On the entrant list is Telangana Chief Minister Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao, who has been outspoken in his criticism of the BJP.