Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the Opposition alliance first needs to focus on ensuring a majority in the Lok Sabha and the issue of the prime ministerial face can be settled after the election results are announced. Kharge was speakiung to reporters after the conclusion of the fourth meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) in New Delhi on Tuesday.
It has been reported that Kharge’s name was proposed at the metting by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee. Kharge neither confirmed or denied the proposal.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 19, 2023
A total of 28 Opposition parties under the umbrella alliance met in New Delhi today to thrash out a stratgey for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. Discussions during the two-hour-long meeting revolved around seat-sharing, coordination and a blueprint to go forward in the general elections. “Twenty eight parties participated in the fourth meeting of the INDIA alliance and shared their views. All parties have spoken in one voice on how the alliance should function in future. 8-10 meetings of the INDIA bloc will be organised across the country. This is important to convey to the people about this alliance,” Kharge said, addressing the media after the meeting.
The Congress president further said that a resolution was passed at the meeting condemning the suspension of MPs in Parliament. “The issue we raised in the House, it was a correct issue. How did the intruders come inside? We had been demanding the Home Minister or Prime Minister to come to the House and address us. House is on, but the government is speaking outside the House. Why they didn’t speak in the House? This is the first time, such a large number of MPs have been suspended. We will continue to fight against this,” Kharge said, adding that the Opposition will hold a nationwide protest against the suspension of Opposition MPs on December 22.
VIDEO | “Our priority is to win first. Who becomes the PM can be discussed later. If MPs are not there, what is the use of talking about the PM? We should first try to fight unitedly and bring majority,” says @kharge in response to media queries on reports suggesting that West… pic.twitter.com/TRrrwF3KMr
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 19, 2023
Contrary to expectations and demands from some Opposition quarters regarding the appointment of a convener, no decision in this regard was taken at the meeting today. “The meeting was good. Campaigning, seat-sharing (talks) will begin soon. No convenor hasn’t been selected yet,” Kejriwal told media. There have been calls from the Janata Dal (United) and the Shiv Sena (UBT) to appoint a coordinator or convener for the alliance in the past.
Besides Kharge, the meeting was attended by Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party MP Rahul Gandhi, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, among others.
VIDEO | “The main issue which was discussed was how to sort seat-sharing at the state level because parliamentary elections are very close. We must conclude the seat-sharing negotiations as early as possible,” says CPI General Secretary @ComradeDRaja after attending the INDIA… pic.twitter.com/MJoczocMfk
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 19, 2023
This was the fourth meeting of the INDIA bloc. The earlier meetings were held in Patna (June 23), Bengaluru (July 17-18) and Mumbai (Aug 31-Sep 1). The meeting in Delhi today was the first after the Congress’ setbacks in the recently concluded Assembly elections in five states. While the Congress won Telangana, it lost to the BJP in key states of the Hindi heartland. Congress lost power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh while failing to stop the BJP’s return in Madhya Pradesh.