Mumbai, Sep 1 : Even as the formal meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is all set to take place here on Friday, deliberations over seat sharing, joint coordination committee and the strategy for the Parliament’s 5-day Special Session is all set to come up for discussion.
A top source, related to the development, told IANS, “From today formal interaction will begin at the INDIA meeting which is being attended by 63 leaders of the 28 parties.”
The source said, “During the meeting today, a deliberation will be held on the formation of the coordination panel, which will help in easing the discussions for the INDIA bloc.”
“Besides the coordination panel, the leaders will also discuss the strategy for the upcoming Special Session of Parliament, on how the INDIA bloc will once again present a united face,” the source said.
When asked if there will be any discussions on seat sharing issue, the source said, “Yes, the seat sharing issue will also be discussed in detail on what will be its format and how it will be decided, for example the seats or states where the regional parties are big and strong, then the Congress needs to backoff.”
The source explained that the seats will not be decided, but that understanding has to be brought in the mind of all the leaders that it is necessary for defeating the BJP to stop the split in the vote share.
The source also refuted that the INDIA bloc leaders will decide the seat sharing formula by September 30 and said first we need to have the understanding on what will be its format and how it needs to be taken forward within a framework.
The source said: “The INDIA bloc leaders will first need to have understanding of the framework of the seat sharing and then a detailed discussion will be taken up on which seats which parties were first, second or third position in the last elections.”
It is worth mentioning that the Congress had contested on 421 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and was in a direct fight with the BJP at 373 seats. BJP had contested the 2019 polls on 435 seats while rest of the seats were contested by its alliance partners.
However, the grand old party could manage to win only 52 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections despite former party chief Rahul Gandhi running an aggressive campaign against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The source further said that with the Odisha’s BJD, Telangana’s BRS and the Andhra Pradesh’s YSR Congress Party and the TDP staying away from the INDIA bloc, the party leaders will leave a decision on the Congress.
The INDIA source also said that a discussion on the Convenor post will also come up for discussion during the day.
The source said that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar are the frontrunners for the post.
The source said that RJD supremo and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had also suggested having zone wise coordinators.
Meanwhile, a Congress source said that a detailed discussion is going on in the party looking at the seats it contested directly against the BJP in 2019.
The source said that the road ahead is not much smooth as it requires a lot of serious talks which involves sacrifice in the states where the regional parties are its main rivals.
He said that the optics of posing for photos together will only work if the parties are ready for sacrifices, adjustments and seat sharing with a bigger heart, which will require very delicate deliberations.
On Friday, a new logo for the INDIA alliance is also likely to be launched.
The like-minded parties have come together to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and to stop it from winning a third consecutive term at the Centre in the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The first meeting of the joint Opposition took place in Bihar’s Patna on June 23, and the second meeting was held in Bengaluru on July 17-18.
