Among four Congress CMs, only Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is likely to attend , his office said, adding a final call would be taken on Friday.
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah’s office said he would not attend the dinner. Officials in Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot’s office told ET: “As of now the CM has no programme to visit New Delhi over the weekend.” The CM has not travelled to New Delhi after his toes were fractured in June-end, they pointed out, adding he has just started limited tours of the state.
Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel was “unwell” on Thursday due to some back-related issues and his office told ET that he was unlikely to visit New Delhi for the official dinner.
Congress sources said only the party CMs have been invited.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is also unlikely to come, his office sources told ET. Kumar has not attended any such meeting in New Delhi in the past either. He hadn’t attended the Niti Ayog meeting in May. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan too is unlikely to visit New Delhi over the weekend.Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha CMs, who are neither in NDA or INDIA bloc, are not likely to attend the dinner. Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy is visiting Scotland with family and will be back only on Tuesday. Sources in Telangana CM KC Rao’s office said he would not attend the dinner. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik will also be absent.There is no confirmation or denial from AAP CMs Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann. Sources told ET that a call would be taken on Friday.
Among those who have confirmed their participation are West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren.
