The Opposition INDIA alliance made a further headway in its ongoing effort to cobble together a joint front to take on the Narendra Modi-led BJP in the Lok Sabha polls, as it set up coordination and election strategy committee, campaign committee and three working groups and decided to initiate the seat-sharing process immediately at the State-level and hold rallies across the country.
Taking forward from where they left at their first sittings held in Patna and Bengaluru, INDIA bloc leaders — after the deliberations at the Mumbai meeting — crossed the first major hurdle by resolving to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls together “as far as possible” and decided to initiate seat-sharing process in different States immediately and conclude it at the earliest “in a collaborative spirit of give-and-take”.
In another decision, INDIA bloc set up a 14-member coordination and election strategy committee comprising Sharad Pawar (NCP), K Venugopal (Congress), Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena), Tejashwi Yadav (RJD), Abhishek Banerjee (TMC), Raghav Chaddha (AAP), D Raja (CPI). Omar Abdullah (NC), Mehbooba Mufti (PDP) and five other major parties in the alliance.
The joint front, however, chose not to appoint any convener for the coordination and election strategy committee.
Having decided to reach out to the voters across the country with the theme of “Judega Bharat, Jeetega India” in different languages, INDIA bloc decided to organise public rallies at the earliest in different parts of the country on “issues of public concern and importance”.
“We, the INDIA parties, hereby resolve to coordinate our respective communications and media strategies and campaigns with the theme ‘Judega Bharat, Jeetega India’ in different languages,” a resolution passed.
The coordination and election strategy committee, which INDIA alliance’s highest decision-making body, will comprise representatives from Congress, NCP, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Shiv Sena (UBT), Rashtriya Janata Dal, Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (United), National Conference, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, CPI, CPM (Marxist), and People’s Democratic Party.
Apart from the coordination and election strategy committee, INDIA bloc set up a 19-member campaign committee, 12-member working group for social media, 19-member working group for media and 11-member working group research.
Speaking at the media briefing that took place at the conclusion of the two-day meeting, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said it is impossible for the BJP to win the 2024 general elections if the INDIA bloc, which represents 60 per cent of the country’s population, was united. “The most important thing to understand is that this stage represents 60 per cent of India’s population,” the Congress leader said.
“The real work in this alliance is the relationships that are forged between leaders of this alliance. There is both rapport and flexibility among the many senior leaders in the INDIA bloc,” Rahul said.
He alleged that the Modi Government was “extracting money from the poor and giving it to a select few businessmen. “So we are going to propose a clear path, a path of development, a clear set of ideas that will once again involve the poor people, the farmers, the workers in the progress of this country,” the Congress leader said.
Targeting Modi for the second consecutive day for his alleged links with Gautam Adani, Rahul said, “The nexus between the PM and a particular businessman is for everyone to see... G20 is taking place, it is essential for our nation’s credibility that PM calls for an enquiry on the Adani group.”
NCP chief Sharad Pawar said, “We are being criticised even for holding a meeting. In the last ten years, the government of the day, do not have their feet on the ground.. And then they are the ones to call us “ghamandiya” or arrogant.”
“People have taken INDIA seriously and we will reach out to all, we will not stop, we would never go on wrong track....We will give a clean administration to the country, we will do whatever possible for that,” Pawar said.
Congress president Malikarjun Kharge demanded to know as to why the Modi Government is planning to hold a special session later this month “You did not call such a special session during demonetisation, China issue, Manipur issue.”
Charging that the Modi-Government was moving towards dictatorship, Kharge said, “They make their corruption invisible... We will continue to expose the Government on issues of corruption.”
“The success of both our meetings, 1st in Patna and 2nd in Bengaluru can be measured by the fact that the PM in his subsequent speeches has not just attacked INDIA but has also compared the name of our beloved country with a terrorist organisation and a symbol of slavery,” Kharge said.
Bihar’s former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad, to whom his daughter donated a kidney and he underwent a transplant in Singapore hospital recently, vowed to show the door to the Modi government before his death. “I am alive because of the blessings of all of you. I promise you I will not die till the Modi Government is removed from office.”
Questioning the morality of Modi to remain in power, Lalu recalled late Prime Minister A B Vajpayee’s criticism during the Gujarat riots over his failure to follow “Raj dharma”.
Speaking in a lighter vein, Lalu asked the ISRO scientists to send Modi to Sunday in their next mission and leave him there.
Coming down heavily on the Modi Government, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “There has never been such an arrogant Govt at Centre; their arrogance will bring them down.”
“Today, India’s youth do not have jobs. The Government is working for ‘one person’ (Adani) and is drowned in corruption,” Kejriwal said.
“INDIA bloc is not just an alliance of parties but 140 crore people, more and more people are joining us. The BJP Government at the Centre is devoid of any achievements to show despite ruling the country for over nine years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is silent over the 7.5 lakh crore irregularities flagged by the CAG report. The Modi Government is becoming unpopular day by day.”
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said, “INDIA alliance becoming popular. Ours is not an alliance merely to win an election. It is an alliance to save the country and the future of its 1.4 billion citizens. This is the time to end the BJP’s attempts to impose uniformity in everything such as One Nation, One-Tax; One Nation, One Language; One Nation, One Culture; One Nation, One Food; One Nation, One Education policy; One Nation, One Election; One Nation, One Party”.
Pillorying the Modi Government on various issues, Bihar’s Chief Minister and JDU leader Nitish Kumar said, “They want to change history, we will not allow history to be changed.... We (INDIA bloc) are on a fast forward mode now, all internal discussions have been done, committees have been formed”.
Dwelling upon the road map of INDIA bloc, CPM leader Sitram Yechuri said, “At State level we will work out seat sharing arrangements, from state to state it would vary. This grouping would be consolidated in the days to come, Modi-Govt is rattled by INDIA. You will see more united activities of INDIA in the coming weeks and months.”