NEW DELHI: The INDIA bloc parties have decided to meet in mid-December in the capital before the end of the winter session to move forward on the seat-sharing talks, create a joint narrative and finalise a joint manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
TMC sources said party chief and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee will attend the INDIA bloc meeting which is likely to be held around December 15-16.
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Amid signs of discord among the coalition partners since the Congress’ defeat in the three Hindi heartland states, coordination among the party leaders seems to continue. The alliance leaders have been invited to attend the swearing-in of
Revanth Reddy
as chief minister of Telangana for Thursday, the first government to be headed by
Congress
since the creation of the state.
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TMC sources said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had called Mamata to invite her for the function. But since she is touring north Bengal, the TMC chief has deputed party’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien to attend the function in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Earlier, leaders of several parties disapproved of the Congress’ decision to hold a joint meeting on December 6 at a quick notice. JDU cgief and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, SP chief Akhilesh Singh and Mamata had expressed their inability to attend the meeting.
TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay said floor leaders of the INDIA parties have been meeting every morning at 10.30 am before the House proceedings to coordinate floor strategy.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hosted a dinner for the floor leaders of the alliance parties at his residence on Wednesday, as a prelude to the joint meeting.
Bandyopadhyay expressed concern about the negative impact of INDIA alliance partners contesting against each other in Hindi heartland states – Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh – all of which Congress lost to BJP. “The momentum created after three successful meets of the INDIA bloc has waned due to no activity in the last three months,” he said.
TMC MP Saugata Roy emphasised the need for one-on-one fight against BJP through effective seat-sharing. “Regarding seat sharing, the party that is strong in a respective region should get priority,” he said.
