The Opposition bloc INDIA on Friday set up a 14-member coordination committee to steer the campaign to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2024 general elections.
The 28 Opposition parties came together in July to announce their coalition named Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). The idea behind the coalition is to minimise the distribution of non-BJP voters and field joint candidates as much as possible to converge all non-BJP voters and defeat BJP candidates.
While no prime ministerial candidate or common programme has been announced, the bloc on Friday on the second day of their two-day conclave in Mumbai announced the setting up of a 14-day coordination committee that would be the highest decision-making body of the bloc. The INDIA also resolved to contest the 2024 general elections together "as far as possible".
The coordination committee, which does not include anyone from the Nehru-Gandhi family of Congress, will work out the seat-sharing arrangements in the spirit of "give and take" at the earliest, said the resolution passed in the two-day conclave. The PTI reported that the seat-sharing arrangement could be finalised by September 30, as per sources.
Speaking at the press conference after the conclave, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the leaders on the stage represented 60 per cent of the Indian population and there was no way BJP could win if these 28 parties came together. He admitted that there are differences between the parties but said he is happy in the manner those differences have been minimised and ironed out so far.
Besides the formation of coordination committee, Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray faction leader Aditya Thackeray said the other two major decisions were the decisions to (i) organise public rallies at the earliest in different parts of the country and (ii) coordinate communication and media strategies of parties in the bloc on the theme of 'Judega Bharat, Jeetega INDIA'.
This is the third meeting of INDIA bloc after earlier meetings in Patna and Bengaluru. The alliance was formalised in Bengaluru after months of preparations as leaderes like Nitish Kumar and Arvind Kejriwal criss-crossed the country to meet various Opposition figures. The meeting comes amid speculation that the Modi government might go for early elections. The speculation has been fuelled by the decision to call an early session of the Parliament later this month and the news of the formation of a committee to look into the possibility of 'one nation, one election'.
INDIA bloc forms apex coordination committee
The highlight of the two-day conclave of the INDIA bloc was the formation of a 14-member coordination committee. The committee would be the highest decision-making body in the bloc.
While no one from the Nehru-Gandhi family of Congress is in the 14-member committee, senior coalition leaders like Sharad Pawar (NCP), KC Venugopal (Congress), Hemant Soren (JMM), Omar Abdullah (NC), Mehbooba Mufti (PDP), and Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena-UBT) are in the committee.
Speaking at the press conference, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray said three resolutions have been adopted by the bloc.
He said, "Today, INDIA parties have taken three resolutions. First resolution: We, the INDIA parties, herby resolve to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections together as far as possible. Seat sharing arrangements in different states will be initiated immediately and concluded at the earliest in a collaborative spirit of give and take. Second resolution: We, the INDIA parties, hereby resolve to organise public rallies at the earliest in different parts of the country on issues of public concern and importance. The third resolution: We the INDIA parties, hereby resolve to cordinate our respective communications and media strategies and campaigns on the theme of 'Judega Bharat, Jeetega INDIA'."
Exuding confidence on the Opposition alliance, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray asserted that the INDIA bloc is getting stronger every passing day. Moreover, he claimed that the opposition unity is also creating panic among our rivals:
INDIA parties have resolved to fight against corruption, we won't allow 'mitra-parivarvad', Thackeray later added.
In the press meet, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge asserted, "We all have common goal to fight against inflation, unemployment."
Seat-sharing arrangement to be finalised at the earliest
The INDIA bloc resolved on Friday to finalise the seat-sharing arrangement at the earliest in the spirit of "give and take".
While the idea is to field joint-candidates against the BJP, there are internal contradictions in the bloc as the contituent parties are rivals in certain pockets, such as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress in Delhi; AAP and Congress in Punjab; Congress, the Left parties, and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal.
The PTI cited sources to report that the bloc could finalise seat-sharing arrangement by September 30. It further reported that the bloc resolved to contest the 2024 general elections jointly "as far as possible".
We represent 60% of country, BJP can't win if we unite: Rahul
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in the post-meeting press conference that the leaders of the 28 parties on the stage represented 60 per cent of the population and if the parties came together, there was no way the BJP could win 2024 general elections.
Rahul acknowledged the differences in the bloc but said that he is satisfied in the manner these differences have been minimised and ironed out so far.
Rahul also raised the issue of alleged business wrongdoing of the Adani Group and the alleged collussion between PM Modi and businessman Gautam Adani. He said that the government is giving out poor people's money to a select few.
Rahul also raised the issue of India-China standoff in Ladakh and said that Ladakhis told him during his recent week-long visit there that the Chinese have occupied grazing land and shephards are no longer allowed to go to land where they used to go earlier. He repeated his previous accusations that the government is lying on the extent of Chinese encroachment of Indian territories in Ladakh.
Opposition alliance making government nervous: Mallikarjun Kharge
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that the Opposition alliance INDIA has made the Modi government "nervous" and that the parties in the bloc should be prepared for "vendetta politics".
Kharge also said that the parties should be prepared for the "misuse" of federal agencies against them. Notably, a number of Opposition leaders have cases of agencies like Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) against them, which they allege to be politically motivated and a misuse of agencies.
Kharge launched a frontal attack on the Modi government alleging the "communal poison" that the BJP and RSS have allegedly spread over the last nine years is now manifested in hate crimes against innocent train passengers and schoolchildren, reported PTI. It was an apparent reference to the incident of a railway police constable shooting people dead on a train and a Hindu teacher making students slap a Muslim student in UP's Muzaffarnagar.
In his opening remarks, Kharge said the success of both the previous meetings can be measured by the fact that the prime minister 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", reported PTI.
"We should be prepared for more attacks in the coming months, more raids and arrests due to this government's vendetta politics. The more ground our alliance gains the more the BJP government will misuse agencies against our leaders," said Kharge, as per PTI.
The country suffered because we were not united: Lalu Yadav
RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav said that the country has suffered over the years as the Opposition parties were not united.
Lalu further said that the minorities are not safe in India under Modi government.
"The country suffered because we were not united. We had always said 'Bhajpa Hatao Desh Bachao', which is now turning out to be true...Minorities are not safe in this country (under BJP rule). Poverty, and unemployment are rising in the country," said Lalu, as per PTI.
