Sonia Gandhi calls for brainstorming?

Amaravati/ Hyderabad: Speculations were rife in political circles that anticipating a hung verdict in the Lok Sabha elections and to avoid a repeat of the Goa-type situation where the Congress could not form a government despite emerging as the largest party, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has decided to take the lead in consolidating the opposition and has called for a meeting of the various party leaders to chalk out an action plan on May 23, the day when the results of elections would be announced.

It was said that Sonia Gandhi had sent letters to TDP, DMK, TMC, Janata Dal Secular, Pawar's Nationalist Congress party, BJD and also the alliance partners in UP Mayawati of BSP and Akhilesh Yadav of Samajwadi Party, YSRCP and TRS and that she has asked Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath to talk to Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao.

But sources in Delhi say that the political secretary to Sonia Gandhi Ahmed Patel had denied that Sonia Gandhi had written any such letter to the leaders of opposition parties. TDP sources also indicate that the opposition parties would meet only after the results are announced.

It may be mentioned here that when Naidu suggested to Rahul Gandhi recently to convene a meeting on May 21, Mamata Banerjee said that there was no hurry and it could be held after the results were announced.