Ahead of their next meeting scheduled for the second week of July in Shimla, the Opposition parties are trying to freeze the seat-sharing formula in at least States like Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand where they already have an alliance.
According to informed sources, the talks have already begun at the State level. “A common candidate against the BJP, though desirable, is not possible in all the 543 seats. But what we can do is to seal the seat-sharing formula in the States where we have a fairly straightforward equation for the Lok Sabha 2024 elections,” a senior Opposition leader said.
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During the Patna meeting, several Opposition leaders, including RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, had urged the Congress to show magnanimity; the Congress is not keen to be seen as “giving up” more than required.
U.P. formula
The Opposition is hoping that it can broadly lock down the formula for Uttar Pradesh, between the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal and the Congress. But here too, SP leaders expressed that negotiations will be simpler if the Congress demand for seats reflected its real position on the ground.
Other trickier States such as Punjab and Delhi — where the variable of Congress-Aam Aadmi Party’s relationship makes it complicated — will be left for a later date to sort out. The AAP’s statement just minutes after the Opposition meeting expressing its inability to attend further meetings until the Congress made its stand on the Delhi ordinance that curtails the State Government’s powers has not gone down well. “We need to see how far they will go with us,” another leader added.
A larger gathering of the opposition parties is expected in Shimla. As per sources, several of the smaller parties that were left out of the partner meeting will be invited, including the IUML, the VCK, the All India Forward Bloc and the RSP.
Common protest action
The Opposition parties are likely to draft the broad contours of a common campaign against the BJP at this meeting. “Opposition unity for 2024 elections is not merely limited to electoral alliances. It is about common messaging that goes beyond each Opposition party’s echo-chamber,” a Congress leader explained.
With enough time on hand, the Opposition also plans to strategise on common protest action on issues such as high unemployment rate, Centre’s refusal to conduct caste census and attack on federalism.
