'UPA-3 very much possible if...': Kapil Sibal's advice to Oppn ahead of crucial June 23 meet

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal said a United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government coming to power in 2024 is “very much possible” provided the Opposition parties have a commonality of purpose, an agenda reflecting it and are ready for “give and take” when fielding candidates to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.

“Once the three conditionalities that I have put forward come through, seat sharing won't present a real problem,” Sibal said.

The veteran leader's advice to the Opposition comes ahead of the crucial Patna meet on June 23, where top leaders such as Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Nitish Kumar, among others, will deliberate on the way forward for forming an anti-BJP coalition.

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Kapil Sibal, a former Congress leader, also said the opposition parties should talk about a "new vision for India". However, he insisted that the fight for 2024 was not against Prime Minister Narendra Modi but “against the ideology that he seeks to perpetuate”.

In an interview with news agency PTI, Sibal said, "There needs to be give and take at the time of distribution of tickets in those states and constituencies where two or more political parties' candidates are vying for the same seat. Once these three things are agreed upon, I think UPA-3 is very much possible."

Asked if it would be practically possible to put up joint candidates against the BJP when there are serious differences in Opposition ranks, Sibal said talk of differences was an “overstatement”, citing that in many of the states, certain political parties are truly dominant.

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“For example, the Congress is the real opposition to BJP in many states, such as Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In these states there is no issue. Among states where there are non-Congress Opposition governments, such as in West Bengal we all know that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is the dominant partner. There will be a very few constituencies in West Bengal where there will be any kind of conflict,” he said.

Asked if the Opposition should leave the leadership question to after the Lok Sabha polls or put up a joint PM candidate, he said it was too early to talk about these things.

“The parties when they get together know best how to move forward. This is not something I wish to comment on,” Sibal said, noting that the June 23 meeting is reflective of the desire of the Opposition to come together to face PM Modi in 2024.

Sibal, who was a Union minister during the UPA 1 and UPA 2 governments, quit the Congress in May last year and was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an Independent member with the Samajwadi Party's support. He recently floated the non-electoral platform 'Insaaf', aimed at fighting injustice.

(With inputs from PTI.)