Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said he has spoken with NCP chief Sharad Pawar and was informed that he would participate in the Opposition meeting in Bengaluru on July 18.

Responding to reports that Pawar would skip the Opposition meeting on Monday and take part in it on Tuesday, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh rejected such insinuations, saying the official meeting of opposition parties is on Tuesday and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is only hosting a dinner on Monday.

Asked about Pawar, Kharge, while interacting with reporters, said he has spoken with Pawar earlier in the day. "He said the (Maharashtra) Assembly is starting there today and he would like to be there (Mumbai). But he will be present for the meeting tomorrow. I called him up to say that it is important for him to come... He said he is coming on July 18 morning, there is no concern about that," Kharge said.

"There is no problem, everyone is coming. Mamata ji is coming, read in the papers Kejriwal ji is coming, Nitish ji, Tejashwi ji, Stalin ji... In fact, more people are aligning with us than those present at the Patna meeting," the Congress president said.

Top leaders of 26 opposition parties are expected to brainstorm in Bengaluru on Tuesday at the official conclave of Opposition parties where they are likely to start work on a common minimum programme and announce a joint agitational plan to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

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