Meeting of Oppn parties called by Mamata starts

New Delhi, June 15: Ahead of the next month's Presidential poll, a meeting of opposition leaders called by Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has started in the national capital to build consensus for fielding a joint opposition candidate.

The meeting is underway at Constitution Club here. However, TRS, AAP, SAD and BJD skipped the meeting.

Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh and Randeep Singh Surjewala, PDP's Mehbooba Mufti, NC's Omar Abdullah, SP's Akhilesh Yadav, DMK's T.R. Baalu, Shiv Sena's Priyanka Chaturvedi, RJD's Manoj Jha and others are attending the meeting to discuss a common opposition candidate for the President.

Mamata Banerjee personally received former Prime Minister Deve Gowda, Pawar, Akhilesh Yadav, Mehbooba Mufti and Congress leaders at the meeting venue.

On Tuesday, Banerjee met NCP chief Sharad Pawar and CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury to deliberate on the issue of Presidential elections.

Yechury along with D. Raja of the CPI and P.C. Chacko met Pawar where NCP leader Praful Patel was also present. After the meeting, Yechury had said, "I have been informed that Sharad Pawar has refused to become a opposition candidate but have discussed some names and those are under consideration."