The Congress on Thursday announced that the much expected seat-sharing talks with the parties in the India National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc will soon begin without any delay.
Congress leader Mukul Wasnik, convenor of the party’s seat sharing committee, said that the seat-sharing discussions will be take place on a state-by-state basis depending on the situation of the allies in a particular region.
Wasnik said that the seat-sharing talks are indeed “top priority” and that the bloc is fully aware that the negotiations need to be done quickly. “There will be no delay,” the head of the five-member committee was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
“As soon as other political parties get ready, we will start talks with them at their convenient time. It is important to discuss on of their basis of states because different parties have different situations in the states,” Wasnik further said.
Party sources noted the obstacles that Congress faces in Punjab and West Bengal, particularly when it comes to forming an alliance. Since in both these states, the grand old party is against an alliance with the ruling parties, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab and Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal.
The Samajwadi Party might also be a tough convince for Congress considering that the latter did not accommodate SP in the recently held assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh.
Reaching an agreement in the seat-sharing discussion is key for the opposition bloc, considering that several of their leaders are of the opinion that a head-on battle needs to be put up with the Bharatiya Janata Party in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress’ National Alliance Committee, met party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leader Rahul Gandhi and general secretary KC Venugopal on Thursday. The committee apprised them about the feedback from the state units on seat-sharing with other INDIA bloc parties for the general elections.
Along with the convenor Mukul Wasnik, the committee includes former chief ministers Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel as well as Mohan Prakash and Salman Khurshid in it.
“Our objective is to ensure that INDIA bloc forms government after the Lok Sabha polls,” Wasnik said after the meeting.
“Over the last few days, the committee held extensive deliberations with party leaders of various states on alliance with INDIA bloc parties. We have put before Kharge ji, Rahul ji and Venugopal ji, the details of the discussions,” Wasnik told reporters after the meeting. He added that now soon after this, talks with alliance partners will begin.
This comes in the backdrop of some of the alliance partners being keen on finalising the seat-sharing arrangement with the clock ticking for the Lok Sabha polls.
The TMC had been pressing for the same, it had kept December 31 as the deadline for seat-sharing talks, however, that could not fructify.
Meanwhile a TMC leader said that this party would not be a part of any joint rally unless the seat-sharing agreement is completed. He said that TMC had sent only one representative even for the recently held rally at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. “No rally should be held unless seat sharing is finalised,” the TMC leader noted.
At the last INDIA bloc meeting, TMC had told Kharge explicitly that other than the name of the alliance, nothing else had been achieved so far.
The TMC — which had been pressing for an early settlement on seat-sharing — had even kept December 31 as the deadline for the talks, however, that could not fructify.
Earlier, in a meeting with the state units, top heads and general secretaries, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had said that the 2024 elections can be won if the “INDIA message is carried well”.
At this meeting, Kharge had also told all the leaders that the party would focus on 255 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, sources were cited as saying by Indian Express. In the 2019 general elections, the grand old party had contested in 421 seats, but won only 52.
Kharge had alleged that BJP is raising emotive issues to hide its failures of ten years in power at the Centre.
“They deliberately involve Congress in every issue,” Kharge said at the meeting of party leaders from across the country. “We have to unite and give a befitting reply to the lies, deceit and wrongdoings of the BJP on grassroots issues in front of the people,” Kharge said as he asked the leaders to sink their differences and work as a team.
Noting that all the attacks of the BJP were on the Congress and the INDIA bloc, he said, “The NDA remains only in name while the INDIA bloc has major grassroots parties that have a strong cadre, base and ideology.”
Slamming the saffron party’s top leadership, he said that they have been trying to ignore the contribution of Congress towards creating a modern India. “We have to give them a concrete answer,” Kharge said.
Meanwhile, Chidambaram, noted that this was the meeting of the Manifesto Committee. “There will be a meeting again next week regarding the manifesto of Congress for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Preliminary views were exchanged in today’s meetings,” he added.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
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