The INDIA bloc formed committees and working groups for Coordination and election strategy, campaign, social media, research and media at its Mumbai conclave.
Opposition party leaders during the meeting in Mumbai. (Supplied)
The Opposition bloc, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), passed a resolution to fight the upcoming Lok Sabha elections together “as far as possible” at its Mumbai meeting on Friday, 1 September.
The clause, “as far as possible” reflected a realistic approach since the alliance comprised political parties that were in conflict with each other in hundreds of seats across the country.
The Mumbai conclave — the third since June — also made INDIA bloc’s first concrete step towards coordinated organisation and effort to work together by forming committees and working groups comprising leaders from all prominent alliance partners.
Interestingly, big names like Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and Nitish Kumar did not feature in any of the committees.
INDIA bloc said the seat-sharing arrangements would be concluded at the earliest in the spirit of “give-and-take”.
The alliance adopted a resolution to this effect and said its theme for the elections would be “Judega Bharat, Jeetega India, (India will unite, India will win)”.
Resolution made by INDIA parties.
Briefing the media after the meeting, the leaders claimed that their unity has rattled the Modi government and it was trying to block their path.
Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray asserted that the INDIA bloc would fight and defeat mitra parivarvad, an oblique reference to crony capitalism in the country, as the Opposition grouping wrapped up its two-day conclave in Mumbai.
Thackeray, who hosted the gathering, said the bloc consisting of more than two dozen political outfits was a coalition of patriotic parties ranged against mitra parivarvad.
“When elections come, there is the slogan of sabka saath sabka vikas (togetherness of all, development for all). But after the elections, it is sabko laath and mitron ka vikas (development of friends by ignoring others). We will not allow this,” the former Maharashtra chief minister said.
Opposition parties have often accused the BJP of indulging in crony capitalism, a charge rejected by the ruling outfit which has sought to portray its rivals as corrupt and nepotistic.
Thackeray maintained that the two-day meeting took some important decisions and resolved to set up coordination committees.
The alliance also constituted a number of committees to monitor its work. It also finalised a 14-member coordination and election strategy committee comprising members of various parties that would function as the bloc’s highest decision-making body and would start work on seat-sharing immediately.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed confidence that the INDIA bloc would defeat the BJP saying that all the parties would work together despite differences. He added that they would propose a clear development path that would involve poor people in the progress of the country.
Rahul Gandhi speaking to reporters.
AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the Modi government was an arrogant one and that arrogance would bring it down. He also claimed that no one in the INDIA bloc came together for any post but for the benefit of 140 crore Indians.
CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said that the BJP government was rattled by the coming together of secular forces. He added that they would consolidate it by organising public meetings across the country.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said that the government was stealing from the poor to help big industrialists, referring to the alleged connection of Modi with industrialist Gautam Adani, adding that the INDIA grouping would bring an end to it.
“We all have a common goal to fight against inflation, and unemployment,” Kharge said.
DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin urged the alliance to immediately hammer out a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) and asserted it would be the face of the INDIA bloc.
“That (CMP) will be the face of the INDIA alliance. The BJP regime has ruined the country in several ways. It (CMP) must present a roadmap to the people, spelling out what we intend to do to undo it (the harm BJP had inflicted),” Stalin said.
The INDIA alliance should identify itself with policies and ideals required to usher in democracy by trouncing and dislodging an autocratic regime and such ideals must head the Opposition bloc, he added.
“Our first objective is to dislodge the BJP regime and install a government of secular, democratic forces at the Centre. To isolate the BJP, as far as possible, parties opposed to the BJP must be inducted into the alliance. I urge all leaders to work with this in mind,” the Tamil Nadu chief minister said.
When protecting Indian democracy becomes the only goal, “there is no doubt that the BJP will be defeated,” he said the alliance was marching ahead on the path of victory.
“The name INDIA itself is causing fear and fever to the saffron party,” he claimed.
💪 Stand with the #INDIAAlliance as we rise from 19 to 28 parties, uniting for our country's future!
🔥 We're not just an alliance, we're a force to protect democracy, diversity, and core values that define India.
🤝 Join us in this historic battle to safeguard India's soul!… pic.twitter.com/XxgU1WyNhB
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) September 1, 2023
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said the Centre’s move of setting up a committee for ‘One Nation, One Election’ was an attempt to divert the attention from issues like unemployment and inflation.
“Three reports that looked into the proposal (of ‘One Nation, One Election’) have said that five constitutional amendments, the three-fourth majority in state assemblies and Parliament and expenditure of ₹15,000 crore for EVMs and VVPATs are required. So is the new committee necessary? Whom are you trying to fool,” she asked.
The leaders of several Opposition parties went into a huddle in Mumbai to finalise their plans. They came out with a coordination committee to start working on the seat sharing by September-end.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, DMK’s TR Baalu, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee and Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut have been included in the Opposition panel.
The names of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, AAP’s Raghav Chadha, Samajwadi Party’s Javed Ali Khan, JD(U)’s Lallan Singh, CPI leader D Raja, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti also figured in the coordination panel.
Earlier in the day, Kharge said the strength of the Opposition alliance was making the government “nervous” and warned INDIA bloc partners to prepare for vendetta politics as there would be more “misuse” of agencies against them.
Mallikarjun Kharge and Uddhav Thackeray. (Supplied)
Addressing the Opposition meeting, he launched a frontal attack on the government saying the communal poison that the BJP and RSS have allegedly spread over the past nine years is now seen in hate crimes against innocent train passengers and schoolchildren.
His apparent reference was to the incidents of a Railway Protection Force constable fatally shooting people on board a train and a teacher at a Muzaffarnagar school asking students to slap their Muslim classmate for not completing his homework.
In his opening remarks, Kharge said the success of the previous meetings in Patna and Bengaluru could be measured by the fact that the prime minister, in his subsequent speeches, has not just attacked INDIA but has also allegedly “compared the name of our beloved country with a terrorist organisation and a symbol of slavery”.
“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,” he warned the alliance partners.
(With PTI inputs)
May 16, 2024
May 16, 2024
May 16, 2024
May 15, 2024
May 15, 2024
May 15, 2024
