By India Blooms News Service Dec 19, 2023
New Delhi/IBNS: INDIA, an anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) front, will hold its fourth meeting on Tuesday, weeks after Congress was decimated in the Hindi heartland and a day after over 70 MPs were suspended from Parliament.
As per various reports, the parties including the principal Opposition Congress are expected to discuss the seat-sharing formula and also the caste census.
The meeting will be attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, top leader Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, Janata Dal (JDU) head Nitish Kumar, Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, DMK chief MK Stalin, Samajwadi Party head Akhilesh Yadav.
The parties with conflicting ideologies will produce their suggestions to take on the mighty BJP, which is spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Speaking to media, Uddhav Thackeray said, Today we will discuss various issues. We should pick a coordinator now. It doesnt mean the coordinator will head to become the face of the alliance but it is important to have it.
Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, on Monday met his West Bengal and Tamil Nadu counterparts, Mamata Banerjee and MK Stalin respectively.
The fourth INDIA meeting is taking place at a time close to 100 opposition MPs were suspended from Parliament in the winter session.
78 MPs were suspended from both the House of Parliament on a single day on Monday over their alleged unruly behaviour.
The meeting also comes in the backdrop of November 3 state election results where BJP pulled off decisive victories in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh forcing Congress to be contended with only Telangana triumph.
Though Mamata Banerjee is looking to iron out differences between the parties, her outfit Trinamool Congress has proposed her to become the face of INDIA alliance.
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said on Monday, The Congress, after its defeat in the three states, should take lessons from it. It has to shun the Zamindari culture. It cant treat its partners as its subjects.
To ensure that the INDIA bloc wins, it must make Mamata Banerjee, who is a three-time Chief Minister and three-time union minister, and other senior leaders the face of the INDIA bloc.
Not giving any significance to the alliance, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has recently said, I cant see any INDI alliance anywhere in the country.
The alliance is neither in the states where Congress is in direct fight with BJP nor elsewhere.