First, tell who will take on PM Narendra Modi in 2019: BJP mocks Opposition parties ahead of key meet

A key meeting of the Opposition parties is taking place on Monday to decide on the possibility of forming a non-BJP front ahead of 2019 polls.
First, tell who will take on PM Narendra Modi in 2019: BJP mocks Opposition parties ahead of key meet
KOLKATA: Ahead of Monday’s crucial meeting of the Opposition parties, the BJP has taken a swipe at its rivals and asked them to reveal the name of their prime ministerial candidate before thinking of ousting the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
“It’s really good to see Opposition parties trying to forge an alliance to fight against us. But first, let them declare their prime ministerial candidate, then they should dream of fighting against us and ousting us,” BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said on Sunday.
The remarks from the senior BJP leader came a day ahead of the crucial meeting of the Opposition parties to discuss forging a grand alliance to take on the saffron party in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
“We have Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Who is their PM candidate?” Vijayvargiya asked.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is tipped to be the Opposition’s PM candidate, has arrived in the national capital to take part in the meeting.
Further taking a dig at the West Bengal CM, another senior BJP leader Mukul Roy said she should first clarify whether the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress, which are also part of the Opposition meeting, were friends or opponents of the Trinamool Congress in Bengal.
“When the TMC was born in 1998, Mamata Banerjee and her party used to say both the Congress and the CPI(M) are political opponents,” Roy said.
“The TMC throughout its 20-year history has termed the CPI(M) as its number one political opponent. So now, it should clarify whether the two have become friends,” he said.