New Delhi: The next gathering of the INDIA bloc will be held in the third week of December, the Congress said Tuesday, after top Opposition leaders dropped out of the party’s hurriedly-convened meeting that was scheduled to take place next day.
Congress leader Gurdeep Singh Sappal said parliamentary party leaders of the alliance would instead meet at 6 pm Wednesday at the residence of party president Mallikarjun Kharge.
A coordination meeting of Parliamentary Party leaders of India Alliance will be at 6 pm on December 6th, 2023 at the residence of Congress President Sh. Mallikarjun Kharge.
Thereafter meeting of Party Presidents/ Heads of the India Alliance will be scheduled in third week of…
— Gurdeep Singh Sappal (@gurdeepsappal) December 5, 2023
Singh’s post on X comes after reports of top Opposition leaders including West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) boss Nitish Kumar planning to skip the meeting, some citing prior engagements.
On Sunday, when counting of votes was underway in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, Kharge had dialled leaders of the INDIA alliance for a meeting Wednesday.
The Congress lost Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh to the BJP, but won in Telangana. The BJP retained Madhya Pradesh.
This was supposed to be the Opposition bloc’s fourth meeting, after over three months — a delay partners have linked to the Congress’s “preoccupation with election campaigns” in the poll-bound states it fought alone.
‘Busy elsewhere’
Mamata said Monday that she would be busy in North Bengal on 6 December.
She also said she was unaware of the meeting date and indicated she would have “rescheduled her itinerary” if informed in advance.
The Trinamool chief, however, did not spare her alliance partner, telling the state assembly that the Congress’s defeat was its own, and not that of the people — indicating the Opposition would have fared better if the Congress had shared seats with allies.
Mamata said Monday that “a strategy had to be finalised”.
“I think the BJP won’t come to power if seat-sharing is done,” she added.
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh’s attendance was also ruled out Tuesday, with party leader Ram Gopal Yadav saying he would attend instead. Akhilesh, he said, would be busy in Purvanchal.
Akhilesh was extremely miffed with the Congress over not getting any seats to contest in Madhya Pradesh. Asked to comment on the Congress’s defeat, he said Monday: “The results have come and the arrogance has ended.”
The SP chief however struck a conciliatory tone later, saying a democracy could throw up any result, but advised the Opposition to prepare for a “long and disciplined fight” against the BJP.
#WATCH | On BJP winning three State polls & future of INDIA bloc, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav says “We are not upset. In a democracy, such results come. This does not mean ‘sabka saath vikas and sabka vikas’ is happening. It will be a long fight. If we have to fight a… pic.twitter.com/qavPuVSS7Q
— ANI (@ANI) December 4, 2023
It was also reported that Nitish Kumar, the principal architect behind the Opposition alliance, would skip Wednesday’s meeting.
Bihar Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said Kumar would not go to Delhi, “as it was not required”. He said the party would send representatives instead.
Demand for seat-sharing
A unified demand of the Opposition has been a viable seat-sharing agreement before the 2024 general elections, so that individual strengths can be at play.
Incidentally, once results were out Sunday, JD(U) spokesperson K.C. Tyagi had observed that the Congress would never win on its own.
Tyagi said the Congress had not invited nor consulted its allies for the November elections even though socialist parties had historically had a presence in Hindi heartland states.
“It is very necessary now for everyone to strengthen the INDIA bloc. If the alliance meeting (Wednesday’s) was called a couple of months earlier, it would have been better,” he added.
Also read: Akhilesh Yadav has no plans to attend INDIA bloc’s Wednesday meeting: SP spokesperson