The INDIA bloc meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, has been postponed, said a report. This comes after some reports said top opposition party leaders including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav won't attend the meeting.
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata said on Monday she won't attend the INDIA bloc meeting that was initially scheduled for December 6 while reports on Tuesday indicated that Nitish and Akhilesh are also likely to skip the meet. Similarly, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, who is the working president of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, told Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge that one of his representatives would attend the meeting on his behalf. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K Stalin also said he won't be able to attend the meeting due to the ongoing cyclone relief operations in Chennai and nearby areas.
SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI on Tuesday that Akhilesh won't attend the meeting, adding that there was no information about such a meeting earlier. He added that Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav or any other leader authorised by the national president will go for the meeting instead.
The latest development indicates rift among member parties in the INDIA bloc after BJP won the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. SP had asked for four to six seats in Madhya Pradesh while JD(U) sought just one seat. However, Congress's CM face in Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath, had not agreed to this arrangement.
Akhilesh on Monday expressed hope that results will be different in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, adding that the opposition parties will have to make a lot of preparations to fight against a "big party" like the BJP.
"The fight is big. To fight a big party like the BJP, we will have to make a lot of preparations. We have to be under strict discipline and have to fight the strategy with which they (BJP) are getting the majority. I hope the results will be different in the Lok Sabha polls," Yadav had told reporters.
The Trinamool Congress supremo said on Monday she can't attend the bloc meeting due to prior engagements in North Bengal, adding that she was unaware of the meeting date. She reportedly said that had she been informed in advance, "she would have rescheduled her itinerary."
TMC had also raised the issue of seat sharing during a meeting of opposition leaders wherein they gathered in Delhi to discuss strategy for the Winter Session of Parliament on Monday.
