New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday played down the absence of some INDIA alliance partners at the December 6 meeting and said that the grouping was 'intact'.
“Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has called a meeting of the INDIA alliance on December 6. Kharge has been trying to reach out to all the alliance leaders. This will be an informal gathering in which around 27 or 28 parties will attend. This is not a formal meeting with the leaders of the alliance and that may be decided to be held soon thereafter,” AICC communications in charge Jairam Ramesh told ETV Bharat.
“The Congress is conscious that time for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is very short. We will be preparing in all earnestness, in all vigour, in all determination. We are taking steps,” he said. According to reports, TMC leader and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, JD-U leader and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, JMM leader and Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, DMK leader and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin along with SP leader and former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav are likely to skip the December 6 meeting of the INDIA alliance though they are expected to send a representative.
The meeting is coming after a gap of over two months during which the Congress was immersed in the five state polls in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Mizoram. While the Congress managers had thought they would do well in the state polls and be in a better position to discuss seat sharing for the Lok Sabha polls with the allies, parties like SP and JD-U were miffed for not being given a few seats in Madhya Pradesh and had put up several candidates.
According to party insiders, the absence of the state leaders is an indicator that they are trying to play hardball ahead of the Lok Sabha elections but things will be smooth in the end. “The regional parties know that the INDIA alliance is needed to take on the BJP in 2024. The Congress was and is committed to the opposition alliance. We had started the alliance and had been coordinating among the allies. Anyway, many of these parties were represented at the meeting of floor leaders chaired by Kharge in his Parliament chamber on December 4. That is going to be a regular feature. The INDIA parties are demanding debates on issues of economic disparity, price rise, and unemployment in Parliament as a team. We will oppose the targeting of TMC Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra. We will oppose any measure that the government will bring to suspend or expel her,” said a senior AICC functionary.
“Tamil Nadu chief minister is busy with the Chennai floods and may not attend the December 6 meeting. Similarly, the other leaders may have had some prior appointments,” he said. Congress insiders said they realize that the opposition needs to move quickly to firm up its joint strategy, campaign and seat sharing which was in progress and would be finalised soon.
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