As preperations were in full swing for the Mega Opposition Rally in Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamatha Banerjee who is spearheading the “United India” rally has surprisingly telephoned TRS Chief and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao yesterday, inviting him to join the rally.

The rally, which is set to be a show of strength of all the anti-BJP parties, will see attendance from the following political parties: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President MK Stalin, former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) President HD Deve Gowda, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convener Arvind Kejriwal and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu.

Other leaders who are likely to take part include Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, former Jharkhand Chief Minister and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) chief Babulal Marandi, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal, National Conference (NC) chief Farooq Abdullah and former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Meanwhile, Sonia Gandhi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi will stay away from the meeting but have extended their wishes to Mamatha. “We hope that we send a powerful message of a united India together,” said Rahul Gandhi. Even BSP chief Mayawati will miss the rally while her party will be represented by an MP.

Given that K. Chandrasekhar Rao had earlier approached Mamatha with the idea of Federal Front, it is clear that with this rally the West Bengal Chief Minister has shown her interested in an anti-BJP front including several regional players. As KCR’s political rival and TDP Chief N. Chandrababu Naidu will also be attending the rally, the Pink Party chief will stay away from the rally. Mamatha’s response and rally also are a blow to KCR as it sends a message that she wants to take control and lead it rather than follow any other regional leader. In the run upto the Lok Sabha polls, the changing political scenarios are like throwing darts in the dark.