INDIA bloc may finalise seat sharing by mid-Jan; no decision on PM face

INDIA bloc parties will focus on seat-sharing talks at the state level and hold public meetings across the country, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge told the media after the fourth meeting of the alliance in Delhi on Tuesday (December 19). He stressed that any decision on the prime ministerial candidate will be taken after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

During the meeting held at Delhi’s Hotel Ashoka, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal proposed Kharge’s name as the prime ministerial candidate of the bloc, MDMK chief Vaiko said after the meeting, as reported by PTI.

Kharge, however, brushed off the suggestion. “We have to first win (the Lok Sabha polls) and get a majority unitedly. If we don’t win, if we don’t have the numbers, what is the point of having a PM face? We will resolve all this later. We are united and we will fight the BJP unitedly. Our leader will be chosen democratically by those who win,” he said.

News agency PTI, too, quoted sources as saying there was no final decision on the issue.

Focus on seat-sharing

For the moment, the bloc will focus on seat sharing. PTI quoted unnamed sources as saying that INDIA bloc parties have decided to finalise seat-sharing by the second week of January.

Ahead of the meeting — the first to be held after the Congress’s drubbing in three crucial state polls — Kharge constituted a five-member panel of senior party leaders to carry out alliance negotiations for the 2024 LS polls. The panel members are Ashok Gehlot, Bhupesh Baghel, Mukul Wasnik (convener), Salman Khurshid, and Mohan Prakash.

“For seat-sharing, our state leaders will build a consensus, and if there are unresolved issues, the central or top leaders will step in to solve those promptly. We are confident that we will be able to resolve (seat-sharing) disputes wherever they exist, be it in Bengal, UP, Delhi, or Punjab,” Kharge told the media after the meeting.

Protest against MPs’ suspension

Kharge also said the constituents of the INDIA bloc now have unanimity on how the alliance should proceed further, what issues are to be raised, and how. He added that eight to 10 meetings will be held across the country to explain the need for the INDIA alliance and raise the issues collectively.

Also on the immediate agenda is to hold an all-India protest on December 22 against the unprecedented suspensions of Opposition MPs in Parliament. “As many as 141 MPs have been suspended. The alliance has passed a resolution condemning this undemocratic move. We have to stay united to fight to preserve democracy,” Kharge said at the post-meeting press conference.

“A legitimate issue raised by us about the security breach (of Parliament) was not allowed to be discussed. We wanted the Home Minister (Amit Shah) to come to the House and inform us what happened, but he did not heed our demand. Parliament is in session, but Modi is roaming in his constituency; someone is inaugurating a building in Parliament. Why can’t they come to Parliament when it is in session?” Kharge demanded.

“This is the first incident of so many MPs being suspended in a single session. We will go to the people and explain all this. The Prime Minister and Home Minister think they are the only ones fit to rule this country,” he added.

Among the leaders in attendance during the meeting were Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, JDU’s Nitish Kumar, RJD chief Lalu Yadav, NC chief Dr Farooq Abdullah, DMK Chief MK Stalin, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, and Shiv Sen (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray.

(With agency inputs)