Top leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc will meet in Delhi on December 19 to chalk out strategies for the Lok Sabha elections.
“The 4th meeting of the leaders of INDIA parties will be held on Tuesday December 19th, 2023 in New Delhi at 3pm,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.
The meeting comes in the backdrop of the assembly elections in which the Congress party suffered humiliating defeats in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The only solace for the grand old party was Telangana where it wrested power from the BRS .
At the Delhi meeting, the parties are likely to chalk out plans on seat sharing, for holding joint election rallies and would evolve a common programme for them.
A senior Congress leader told PTI that the parties intend to move forward with the unity theme - "Main Nahin, Hum" (We, Not Me) - as a counter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the meeting.
The INDIA bloc would highlight 10 years under Manmohan Singh and whether the 10 years under PM Modi have brought any difference to the life of the common man, he said.
According to reports, the opposition is likely to take forward the issues of caste census, legal guarantee to MSP and social security for workers during the Lok Sabha elections.
An earlier meeting of the bloc scheduled for December 6 was deferred after many leaders including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar indicated that they might skip it.
Banerjee would be in the national capital from December 17 to 19 and is likely to take part in the meeting.
According to reports, the Congress has also resolved its differences with Akhilesh, indicating his presence at the Dec 19 meeting.