The bloc set up a 14-member coordination committee, which will be the top decision-making body of the alliance. It will begin work on seat sharing soon. The committee will try to iron out seat sharing and other issues between alliance partners.
After two days of deliberations, the alliance passed three resolutions: “We the INDIA parties hereby resolve to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections together as far as possible. The seat sharing arrangements in different states will be initiated immediately and concluded at the earliest in a collaborative spirit of give and take,” the first resolution said.
The second one said that the bloc, “hereby resolves to organise public rallies at the earliest in different parts of the country on issues of public concern and importance.” The third resolution was to coordinate communications and media strategies and campaigns on the theme ‘Jodega Bharat, Jitega India,’ in different languages.
Speaking after the two-day event, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed that the alliance was formidable enough to defeat the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. “This stage represents 60% of the Indian population. If the parties on the stage unite, then it is impossible for BJP to win an election. So, the task is to come together in the most efficient way possible and two big steps have been taken. The first step is a coordination committee,” Rahul Gandhi said.
There was flexibility among leaders of the group, he said. “There are differences, but I am extremely impressed by how the differences are minimised and ironed out.” He reiterated the allegations against the Adani Group and slammed the Modi government for ‘accommodation’ of China after border intrusions. “Every single person in India have been betrayed by the Government of India. There is clearly an accommodation that has happened between the government and the Chinese. What has happened in Ladakh is shameful,” he said.Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar vowed to usher in a transparent and clean administration if the Opposition bloc was elected. “We will not go on the wrong path, and we will try to bring back those who have gone on the wrong path. If they don’t come back, we would work to keep them away from power too,” he said in what was seen as hinting at his nephew Ajit Pawar.Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the INDIA bloc would hold rallies in different state capitals. Kharge questioned convening of a special session of the Parliament without taking the Opposition into confidence. “This was done without informing the business advisory committee or the Opposition leader. You didn’t call a special session when Manipur was burning, when there was Covid-19, when China intruded,” Kharge said. Chief ministers Nitish Kumar, MK Stalin and Arvind Kejriwal said that the INDIA would soon ensure that NDA was out of power.
Panel Members
The coordination committee, the top decision-making body of the INDIA bloc, includes KC Venugopal (Congress), Sharad Pawar (NCP), TR Baalu (DMK), Tejashwi Yadav (RJD), Abhishek Banerjee (AITC), Sanjay Raut (UBT) Raghav Chadha (AAP), Javed Ali Khan (SP), Lallan Singh (JDU), D Raja (CPI), Omar Abdullah (NC), Mehbooba Mufti (PDP). CPI-M has not named its representative yet.
