Top leaders of 28 Opposition parties, called INDIA alliance, participated in more than three-hour-long meeting in Delhi on Tuesday. Here are the five takeaways from this fourth conclave of the INDIA bloc.
Seat sharing has always been the elephant in the room as far as the INDIA parties are concerned. At the last meeting of the alliance in Mumbai on August 31-September 1, many parties had argued that seat sharing should be taken up as soon as possible. But there was no forward movement.
On September 14, the coordination committee of the alliance met in Delhi and decided to “start the process for determining seat sharing” and also “decided that the member parties will hold the talks and decide at the earliest”. But the Congress, which was hoping to win big in the Assembly elections, went slow.
On Tuesday, one section of the alliance leaders said the parties have reached a broad understanding at their meeting that seat sharing talks should be concluded before December 31. Another section said seat sharing is likely to be completed by the middle of January. Most of the parties, however, remain sceptical of arriving at any final understanding any time soon. One thing is clear — the bloc will run into trouble regarding seat sharing in at least four states – Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal and Delhi. In fact, addressing the press conference after the meeting, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge named several states where he expected seat sharing to be smooth and said interestingly that the issues related to Delhi and Punjab will also be sorted out later.
PM candidate: Mamata proposal evokes suspicion
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjeewho on Monday said that the INDIA parties should decide on their leader after the elections, sprang a surprise suggesting that the alliance should have a face — either a convener or a Prime Ministerial candidate. Banerjee named Kharge, saying she would not have any problem if the Dalit leader is projected as the alliance’s face. Delhi CM and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal endorsed Mamata’s proposal but others chose to remain silent.
On his part, Kharge intervened and argued that the priority should be to win the elections. He repeated the same at a press conference later.
Mamata met Kejriwal on Monday and had a meeting with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday. Sources in the Sena say Banerjee had shared her thoughts with them. Her move has, however, evoked suspicion among several parties. Some leaders wondered whether she was trying to scuttle the chances, if any, of Bihar CM and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar. Kumar was said to be visibly upset at the meeting. Some were of the view that she perhaps wanted to float the idea to eliminate Kharge himself from the race and put the Congress on the back foot by showing lack of faith in Rahul Gandhi. There was no rousing reception to Banerjee’s proposal at the meeting. Some leaders felt the timing was odd given that the parties are yet to decide on even seat adjustments. A senior Sena later said it was for the Congress to decide first.
Lack of enthusiasm and bonhomie
The meeting not just revealed the faultlines within the alliance but also lack of enthusiasm and bonhomie. Sparks flew several times. The SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav told the Congress to decide whether it wants to go with his party or the BSP in Uttar Pradesh. The BSP is not a constituent of the INDIA bloc. He told the Congress that it has to make up its mind first.
The parties also could not pass a unanimous resolution against EVMs. The Congress had been sceptical of EVMs for long. The party had in 2018 passed a resolution seeking a return to the paper ballot system. Its leaders in Madhya Pradesh had blamed the EVMs for the party’s defeat in the recent Assembly elections.
But many alliance leaders were not convinced. They said the resolution should be limited to asking the Election Commission to ensure maximum use of VVPATs in the upcoming polls. “Instead of the VVPAT slip falling in the box, it should be handed over to the voter who shall then place it in a separate ballot box after having verified his or her choice. 100% counting of VVPAT slips should then be done. This will restore full confidence of the people in free and fair elections,” read the resolution passed by the alliance at the meeting.
Sources said Kumar was furious when DMK leader TR Baalu sought a translator when he was speaking in Hindi. He is learnt to have told them that Hindi was one of the official languages. His remarks favouring renaming the country’s name as Bharat also stunned many of the leaders, especially those from the Congress. Many of the heartland leaders of the alliance are already upset with the DMK over the Sanatan Dharma controversy. Clearly, the leaders of the INDIA alliance were singing different tunes. And several satraps — Banerjee, Kumar, Kejriwal, RJD chief Lalu Yadav and Thackeray — were missing from the post-meeting press conference.
Congress’s seat sharing efforts
Minutes before the INDIA bloc meeting began, the Congress announced a national alliance committee. It was seen as an attempt to send a message to restive allies that it was serious about seat sharing. Several leaders said the Congress should draw lessons from the party’s defeat in the Assembly elections – their argument was that the Congress being the largest party should carry everyone along and show a big heart. The leaders spoke about cancellation of the bloc’s joint public meeting which was scheduled to be held in Bhopal. They also pointed out how the Congress refused to accommodate other parties in states like MP, Rajasthan and Telangana.
The composition of the Congress’s five-member committee is interesting. It has heavyweights like Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel and senior leaders like Mukul Wasnik, Salman Khurshid and Mohan Prakash as members. The Congress perhaps realised that the committee which will talk to other parties regarding seat sharing should have gravitas and seasoned players and not young turks preferred by Rahul. In many states, the seat sharing will run into trouble and the Congress hopes the committee will have to intervene to iron out the differences well in time.
Joint campaign
The INDIA parties resolved to hold joint rallies once again. And once again, no date or venue were decided or announced. The only specific plan is to hold protests across the country on December 22 against the mass suspension of MPs from Parliament. The suspension of the MPs cutting across many Opposition parties have in a way united the bloc in Parliament.
At the grouping’s meeting, there was no mention of drawing up of at least a common agenda if not a common manifesto or a common minimum programme. Some leaders later said there is still a lot of time to finalise a common agenda. They also said there are many issues on which there is convergence in views. While a JD(U) leader said a decision was taken to hold the first grand rally of INDIA parties in Patna on January 30, the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, it was not announced. The Congress, on its part, has decided to kick off its Lok Sabha campaign from Nagpur by holding a rally there on December 28, the party’s foundation day.