From the Urdu Press: ‘Sonia’s entry clears picture on Opp unity leadership’, ‘the personal and the political in Pawar battle’, and consistency as Rahul’s new ‘calling card

Sonia’s opponents are now Modi and Shah. She also does not have an advisor like Ahmed Patel or an ally like Harkishan Singh Surjeet… But for the 2024 battle she has Kharge and allies such as Nitish and Pawar as her comrades in arm’: SalarIt is a tale of two meetings being tracked closely by the Urdu Press  the Opposition parties’ meet in Bengaluru, their second one after the Patna huddle, and the BJP-led NDA’s Delhi conclave being held after a long hiatus.

Some of the Urdu dailies framed the meetings as shows of strength put up by the two warring sides months before their grand face-off, projecting it as 26 vs 38 in terms of a numbers game. A common refrain is that these meetings have set the stage for the 2024 showdown. The dailies are also highlighting Sonia Gandhi’s presence at the Bengaluru event, even as they continue to decode the moves of NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

Commenting on the second joint meeting of the Opposition parties, being held in Bengaluru, the Bengaluru-based Salar, in its editorial on July 17, notes that the ruling BJP is also holding a meeting of its NDA coalition in Delhi on July 18 to deliberate on its strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “Battlelines have thus been drawn for the 2024 polls,” it says, pointing out that while Sonia Gandhi would take the centrestage at the Opposition’s crucial conclave, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the key NDA meet. Although Sonia has retreated from active politics due to health reasons, her 

Bengaluru meet has sent out a clear signal that the Congress is serious about playing the leadership role in a united Opposition front being created for taking on the BJP in 2024, the editorial says. “It had seemed earlier as if Nitish Kumar or Sharad Pawar were leading the Opposition unity project. The first joint Opposition meeting was held in Patna on June 23, prior to which the leaders used to visit Mumbai to meet Pawar for discussions. But Sonia’s entry into the scene has