INDIA to fight BJP together 'as far as possible' in LS polls

NT Correspondent

Mumbai: Opposition bloc INDIA on Friday resolved to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls together "as far as possible", asserting seat-sharing arrangements in states will be concluded at the earliest in a "collaborative spirit of give-and-take".

It also exuded confidence that the new front would easily defeat the BJP.

Meeting against the backdrop of speculation in certain political circles about early polls and formation of a panel to explore the possibility of 'one nation, one election', the opposition bloc leaders set up a 14-member coordination committee that will act as the highest decision-making body of the alliance and initiate work on seat sharing.

Sources said the body has been asked to work out a seat sharing formula by September end, a suggestion that was given during informal talks between the leaders.

The opposition leaders vowed to finalise seat sharing in an accommodative spirit with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claiming at a joint news conference that the alliance represents 60 per cent of the population and if it takes on the BJP unitedly, it will easily defeat the ruling party.

As many as 63 representatives from 28 parties took part in the third meeting of the INDIA alliance in Mumbai.

The INDIA bloc resolved to organize rallies at the earliest in different parts of the country on issues of public concern.

'Oppn has no vision for country's development'

The BJP took a jibe at the Opposition parties' INDIA bloc meeting, saying its only takeaway is that they have "formally" accepted their give-and-take principle.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, senior party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, said, "There was no vision for development, no roadmap for upliftment of poor... third meeting of the Opposition did not even acknowledge the threat to India posed by terrorism.''

Oppn bloc panel

The 14-member coordination panel will have K C Venugopal of Congress, T R Baalu of DMK, Sharad Pawar of NCP, Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena, Hemant Soren of JMM, Raghav Chadha of AAP, D Raja of CPI, Javed Ali Khan of SP, Tejashwi Yadav of RJD, Lalan Singh of JD(U), Abhishek Banerjee of TMC, Omar Abdullah of NC and Mehbooba Mufti of PDP. The CPI-M will give the name of their leader later.