The Opposition bloc INDIA is showing signs of complete disarray. One of the major stakeholders in the alliance, Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena, has reached out to JDU president Nitish Kumar, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, and NCP boss Sharad Pawar to quickly work out the appointment of a convener for the INDIA bloc, aiming for better coordination as the crucial Lok Sabha polls could be announced anytime now.
On Thursday, a coordination meeting of the bloc was held at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, with the presence of party leader Rahul Gandhi and others.
Briefing the media about the meeting, Congress general secretary Mukul Wasnik said a report presentation was made to Kharge and others, resolving to swiftly work on the seat-sharing formula.
“Congress coordination committee held several rounds of meetings with the State leaders pertaining to the Lok Sabha seats within their jurisdiction. Sooner the aspects of these will be discussed with the other stakeholders of the INDIA bloc to consolidate the talks on seat sharing as the consensus is to instal a INDIA bloc government at the Centre by dislodging the Modi-led BJP’s misrule,” Wasnik said.
On the other hand, Congress expressed ‘displeasure’ with their INDIA coalition partners — Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal and AAP in Punjab and Delhi.
Sources said that Thackeray called all the leaders over the phone and is believed to have proposed the name of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the convener of the largest Opposition coalition.
It is reported that a virtual meeting of Opposition parties will take place this week to endorse the decision. Uddhav has also discussed the matter with Congress senior leader KC Venugopal regarding the post of convener and will soon hold talks with other members of the alliance.
In a swift decision, Nitish Kumar was elected Janata Dal (United) president at the party’s national executive meeting last week, with incumbent Lalan Singh stepping down, charged with hobnobbing with RJD and Congress. Nitish was also reportedly not happy when Mamata and Kejriwal proposed the name of Kharge as the alliance’s Prime Ministerial candidate.
Sources said that Kejriwal, who is currently embroiled in an ED summons controversy, has expressed his support for Nitish Kumar as the convener after talks with Uddhav.
“Nitish Kumar was very crucial in forming INDIA alliance. The Congress will not have a problem with the decision as there will be two top posts in the alliance — chairperson and convener,” said Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesman Sanjay Raut.
Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction leader Supriya Sule also commented on the matter, saying that she has not received any confirmation on Nitish Kumar’s appointment as the convener.
On December 19, the INDIA bloc parties’ held their fourth meeting in Delhi where Mamata proposed Kharge as PM candidate.
In a statement that may upset stakeholders, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said on Thursday that the AICC has instructed the state unit to contest all
13 seats.
“In today’s meeting, there was no discussion about seat sharing or alliance in Punjab. We are prepared to compete for all 13 seats. Discussions about candidates and election strategy will take place in the next couple of months,” said Raja.
Last week, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, leading the AAP-led government, sparked a war of words between Congress and AAP when he remarked, “Sooner, people will say ‘once upon a time there was a Congress’,” indicating that the grand old party is fading out.
On the matter of seat sharing in West Bengal for the Lok Sabha polls, State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury took on the ruling TMC in the State, commenting that Mamata’s real intention is now evident.
“They are saying that they (TMC) will give two seats (to Congress) in West Bengal. Those seats already have Congress MPs. What new are they giving us? We won these two seats by defeating Mamata Banerjee and the BJP. What favour are they doing to us? Who will trust her (Mamata Banerjee)? It is Mamata who needs Congress to win... Congress can fight and is capable of winning more seats on its own. We will show. We don’t need to keep these two seats on Mamata’s pity..,” Chaudhary said on Thursday in Kolkatta.
Meanwhile Congress panel entrusted with drafting the party’s manifesto for the coming Lok Sabha elections held its first meeting on Thursday and discussed various points to be included in the document.
In its bid to wrest power from the BJP after 10 years, the Congress is aiming to present an alternative positive agenda to the public. “This was the first meeting of the manifesto committee. It was an exchange of preliminary thoughts and ideas, and how we proceed with the drafting of the manifesto. The next meeting will take place next week,” panel chairperson P Chidambaram said after the meeting.
