The plans of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners to hold joint programmes in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha election is likely to be hinged on the outcome of the seat-sharing talks.
Though the Congress has conveyed a sense of urgency by holding a series of meetings with State units on the issue of alliances, there is pressure from allies such as the Trinamool Congress and the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) to tie up the loose ends by the first half of January.
At the fourth meeting of the INDIA bloc, Mr. Thackeray, is said to have argued why this was essential for the Opposition parties.
“If the INDIA bloc starts doing joint rallies and meetings and then some parties run into trouble over seat-sharing and there is public wrangling, it will send a very wrong message. It is better to have a seat-sharing agreement and then joint action plan,” a leader close to Mr. Thackeray quoted him as saying.
The Sena leader also is said to argued that announcing a Prime Ministerial candidate may be premature but the alliance should be Convenor to steer it.
But both the issues are contentious and ironically, Mr. Thackeray’s Sena is the first among INDIA partners who have demanded as many as 23 Lok Sabha seats in, leaving only 25 seats to be divided among the Sharad Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress.
Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that the Congress — the principal Opposition party in Maharashtra — should start seat-sharing negotiations from zero, just a day after the Congress held a massive Hain Tayyar Hum (we are ready) rally at Nagpur on December 28., to mark the the party’s 139th foundation day.
It is also a fallout of the Congress’ weak bargaining position in the aftermath of the party’s rout in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan.
Congress leaders like Milind Deora were quick to hit back and point that the Sena had lost as many as 40 MLAs because of a split in the party and asserted that the Congress high command will not agree to any alliance unless the State unit agrees.
Similar problems are expected to surface in West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, and Kerala.
The issue of appointing a Convenor or declaring a prime ministerial candidate too can prove to be a divisive one.
On December 19, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee had surprised many by proposing Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge as a possible contender to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Many believe the change of guard in Janata Dal (United), with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar replacing Rajiv Ranjan Singh, signals Mr. Kumar’s prime ministerial ambitions. There have been speculation in political circles for a long time that Mr Kumar would be named the Convenor of the bloc, making him the front-runner in the prime ministerial race.
On Friday, the JD(U) played these murmurs down. However, the JD(U) did pass a resolution that said the first meeting of the INDIA bloc on June 23 in Patna is the beginning of the campaign to remove the BJP at the Centre.
“BJP is anxious because the INDIA bloc has a leader like Nitish Kumar which is leading them to make unsubstantiated remarks about him. Nitish Kumar has clearly said that he does not aspire to be the Prime Minister or convenor of the INDIA bloc. His only priority is to unite the anti-BJP opposition,” the JD(U) resolution stated.
If the INDIA partners can work out a broad-based consensus on seat-sharing formula, the first photo-op for a united Opposition will be seen at Imphal on January 14, when the Congress launches its 6,200 kms long Manipur-to-Mumbai Bharat Nyay Yatra.
