Omkar Dattatray
The opposition parties have met at Mumbai and it is the third meeting of INDIA where various issues concerning fighting the NDA In 2024 general elections were discussed .The leaders of the opposition alliance ,known as INDIA bloc convened a two day conclave in Mumbai in which coordination committee was framed and a logo of the new alliance was unveiled .They were also to draft the common minimum programme .The opposition conclave was held for two days that is on 31st of August and 1st of September also saw announcement of panels to draft a common minimum programme .and framed joint plans for holding agitations across the country and for seat sharing .Opposition bloc INDIA convened its third meeting to strategize against the ruling BJP led NDA .The gathering was hosted by MVA alliance in Maharashtra .The 28 member opposition bloc INDIA had its third meeting in Mumbai carrying forward the process of laying a broader roadmap against the BJP -led NDA at the centre .The 62 representatives of 28 political parties met and discussed a host of matters and concentrated on framing strategies to fight the Modi government and defeat it in the ensuing general elections .The INDIA framed and announced a 14 member coordination committee to arrive at the seat sharing formula by the end of September and it will also draft the common minimum program for the alliance as without the common minimum programme it cannot go on to fight the NDA. Though the opposition front constituted the coordination committee which is the highest decision making body ,it it failed to announce the prime ministerial candidate and left this matter to be decided at a future date .While no prime ministerial candidate or common programme has been announced ,the INDIA bloc resolved to contest the 2024 general elections together as far as possible .It also announced the apex coordination committee to work out the seat sharing arrangements in the spirit of give and take at the earliest .The opposition front INDIA set up a 14 member committee to steer the campaign to defeat prime minister Narendra Modi and BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha polls .The 28 opposition parties came together in July 2023 to announce their coalition named Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance(INDIA) .The idea behind the coalition is to minimize the distribution of non-BJP voters and field joint candidates as much as possible to converge all non-BJP voters and defeat BJP candidates .At least the INDIA resolved to fight 2024 general elections together and this is a big and meaningful development .The coordination committee ,which does not include anyone from Nehru-Gandhi family of congress ,will work out the seat sharing arrangements in the spirit of give and take at the earliest ,said the resolution passed in the two -day conclave .In all probability the seat sharing arrangement and formula could be finalized by September 30. Speaking at the press conference after the conclave ,congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that th leaders on the stage represented 60% of the Indian population and there was no way BJP could win if these 28 parties came together .However he admitted that there are differences between the parties but said he is happy in the manner those differences have been minimized and ironed out so far .Besides the formation of coordination committee ,shiv sena ‘s Uddhav Thackeray faction leader Aditya Thackeray said the other two major decisions were to 1- Organize public rallies at the earliest in different parts of the country and (!!) coordinate communication and media strategies of the parties in the bloc on the theme of ‘Judega Bharat ,Jeetega INDIA. This is the third meeting of INDIA bloc after earlier two meetings in Patna and Bengaluru .The alliance was formalized in Bengaluru after months of preparations as leaders like Nitish Kumar and Arvind Kejriwal criss crossed the country to meet various opposition leaders .The current meeting comes amid speculations that Modi government might go for early elections .The speculation has been fuelled by the decision to call an early session of the parliament .The coordination committee will soon start the process and arrangement of seat sharing and work out the formula in each case .Rahul Gandhi said ,we will expedite all seat sharing decisions. .Opposition INDIA alliance bloc vows to prepare on war footing for as it decided to get into poll mode and speed up its plans to take on the NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections .The leaders of the opposition bloc convened a two day’s meeting and they finalized coordination committee and unveiled a logo ,and drafted a common minimum programme .In the day second of the meeting of opposition bloc in Mumbai , the alliance announced a resolution to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections jointly .The top leaders of the opposition bloc INDIA on Friday begun crucial discussions to give structure to their grouping and lay down their plans to take on the BJP led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls .During the formal talks in the third round of the opposition meeting ,the INDIA ,bloc leaders came out with a joint statement and announced that, ”We ,the INDIA ,bloc 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 collaborative spirit of give and take. ”’We the INDIA parties ,hereby resolve to organize public rallies at the earliest in the different parts of the country on issues of public concern and importance .We ,the INDIA parties ,hereby resolve to coordinate our respective communications and media strategies and campaigns with the theme Judega Bharat,Jiteega INDIA in different languages .”Opposition leaders slammed the government’s move to set up a committee to study the feasibility of one-nation ,one ,election ,alleging it would pose a threat to the federal structure of the country .A congratulatory resolution was also passed in the INDIA coalition meeting on ISRO’s successful Chandrayaan -3 mission .In short discussions and deliberations on various issues were held ,but choice of the prime ministerial face could not be finalized and this is the big weakness of the opposition front .Nothing substantial was achieved at the end of the two days of deliberations .It can be safely said that INDIA conclave can safely and surely be termed as much ado about nothing which in Hindi translates as Khoda Pahard to Nikle Chuhi.
(The author is a columnist, social and KP activist).
