2024 Elections: INDIA Bloc Forms 14-Member Coordination Panel

Mumbai: The Opposition INDIA bloc, comprising members from 28 Opposition (non-BJP) parties, took a significant step forward on Friday in its bid to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections together “as far as possible”. After a two-day meeting in Mumia, the alliance finalised a 14-member coordination committee, which will serve as the bloc's highest decision-making body. The committee's immediate task is to commence discussions on seat-sharing arrangements, with a target to finalise them by September 30, according to reports.

Congress's K C Venugopal, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, TMC's Abhishek Banerjee and Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut are part of the opposition panel.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, AAP's Raghav Chadha, Samajwadi Party's Javed Ali Khan, JDU's Lallan Singh, CPI leader D Raja, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and PDP's Mehbooba Mufti are also part of coordination panel.

This diverse coordination committee, comprising leaders from various regions and ideologies, is expected to play a crucial role in strategising and coordinating the opposition's efforts for the upcoming elections.

The INDIA bloc, during its meeting, also adopted a resolution pledging to contest the Lok Sabha elections together “as far as possible”. The resolution, titled "Judega Bharat, Jeetega India" (India will unite, India will win), emphasised the spirit of cooperation and "give-and-take" in seat-sharing arrangements.

"We, the INDIA parties, hereby resolve to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections together as far as possible. Seat-sharing arrangements in different states will be initiated immediately and concluded at the earliest in a collaborative spirit of give-and-take," the resolution said.

 "We, the INDIA parties, hereby resolve to organise public rallies at the earliest in different parts of the country on issues of public concern and importance," it said further.

The resolution also said the INDIA parties will coordinate their respective communications and media strategies, and campaigns with the theme "Judega Bharat, Jeetega India" in different languages.

The leaders of several opposition parties convened in Mumbai for this crucial meeting, underscoring their determination to present a united front in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Be Prepared for Govt’s Vendetta Politics: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, briefing the media after the third meeting of the bloc, said the strength of the Opposition alliance is making the government "nervous" and warned INDIA bloc partners to prepare for vendetta politics as there will be more "misuse" of agencies against them.

Kharge launched a frontal attack on the government saying the communal poison that the BJP and RSS had spread over the last nine years was now being seen in hate crimes against innocent train passengers and school children.

His reference was to the incidents of a Railway police constable fatally shooting people on board a train and a teacher at a Muzaffarnagar school asking students to slap their Muslim classmate for not completing his homework.

In his opening remarks, Kharge said the success of both the meetings in Patna and Bengaluru can be measured by the fact that the Prime Minister in his subsequent speeches has not just attacked INDIA but has also allegedly "compared the name of our beloved country with a terrorist organisation and a symbol of slavery". 

"We should be prepared for more attacks in the coming months, more raids and arrests due to this government's vendetta politics. The more ground our alliance gains the more the BJP government will misuse agencies against our leaders," he charged. 

It has done the same in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and West Bengal. In fact, last week, it was done in Jharkhand and in Chhattisgarh, he noted.

He said every section of our society — farmers, youth, women, the marginalised, middle class, public intellectuals, NGOs and even journalists — have been at the receiving end of the BJP's "authoritarian misrule". 

Terming the Centre’s mover on “One-Nation, One-Election”, Kharge said, it was a "diversion and distraction".

"No matter how many diversions and distractions the ruling regime throws at the people, the citizens of India shall not be betrayed anymore," adding that “140 crore Indians are looking towards us with hope to relieve them of their miseries”.