 "India Bloc Meeting")
At a meeting of the top leaders of the INDIA bloc of parties on Tuesday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge rejected a proposal from leaders of some of the regional constituents, such as Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal, that he be the prime ministerial face of the alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Kharge rejected the suggestion, stating that the alliance should first ensure enough of its MPs win.
The leaders of the 27 constituents of the INDIA bloc, who met after a gap of three and a half months, agreed that they should conclude their seat sharing talks at the earliest. Addressing the press conference after the meeting ended, Kharge said the alliance would conclude their seat adjustments by the second week of January.
However, in the meeting, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee insisted that the allies should conclude their discussions by December 31. Kharge said the INDIA bloc will hold at least eight to 10 joint rallies across the country as evidence of their united fight against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The constituents of the alliance will protest the suspension of their 141 Members of Parliament (MPs) across the country on December 22, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said.
Over the past two days that Banerjee has been in Delhi, she met several regional leaders of the alliance, including Arvind Kejriwal, Akhilesh Yadav, M K Stalin and Uddhav Thackeray. At the meeting, Banerjee proposed that Kharge should be the alliance’s prime ministerial face, which Kejriwal seconded, according to MDMK leader Vaiko.
Notably, on Monday, Banerjee had told reporters that the alliance should take a call on its prime ministerial face after the elections. At the meeting, in a message to the Congress, Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav ruled out any truck in Uttar Pradesh with the Bahujan Samaj Party.
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This was the fourth meeting of the top leaders of the bloc, and the first after its previous one on September 1. Leaders of the constituents had been upset with the Congress for ignoring the alliance for the last three months. At Tuesday’s meeting, Congress’ allies indicated their willingness to move on but not without some discordant notes, including a leader questioning the Congress why it called off the proposed joint rally of the leaders in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, in the run up to the Assembly polls in the state.
Leaders stressed that lessons should be learnt from the defeats in the three Hindi heartland states. They also decided to conclude discussions on a positive common agenda for the elections soon. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his Tamil Nadu counterpart Stalin, Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, and a couple of other regional leaders did not attend the press conference.
THE PROPOSALS
Protest against suspension of 141 MPs across the country on December 22
Conclusion of discussions by December 31
Seat sharing should end by the second week of January
At least eight to 10 joint rallies across the country
