Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has reached out to leaders of the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) for better coordination, and seat-sharing talks with INDIA partners are also at an advanced stage, the party’s general secretary in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said on January 10.
The statement is in the backdrop of reports that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his party, the Janata Dal (United), is upset that Mr. Kumar was not made the convener of the INDIA bloc.
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It also comes right in the middle of the Congress’s seat-sharing talks with INDIA partners for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
“Mr. Kharge has been in touch with the leaders of all INDIA parties to figure out how best to create a system for closer coordination,” Mr. Ramesh said.
He didn’t specify an exact timeline the Opposition bloc could announce a convener but indicated that it could happen soon.
On the issue of seat-sharing, the Congress leader said talks had started and they were at an advanced stage with several INDIA partners.
“The Congress leadership is committed to making INDIA bloc effective and we will go the extra mile to accommodate all our allies,” Mr. Ramesh said.
For the last three days, the National Alliance Committee of the Congress has held talks with the Aam Aadmi Party for Delhi and Punjab, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for Maharashtra, and the Samajwadi Party for Uttar Pradesh.
However, talks are yet to begin with the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, and the JD(U) in Bihar even though talks have been held with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
“There is a clarity on number of seats to be shared in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and so on. Positive discussions have happened with the AAP and the RJD. As far as discussions with the JD(U) and Trinamool are concerned, they will begin in the next couple of days,” said a senior leader, familiar with the seat-sharing discussions.
The JD(U) is said to be playing hardball in Bihar, while in West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Cand Congress’ West Bengal chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have been engaged in an open war of words.
“State units may have differences but when the top leadership takes a call, everyone is expected to abide by the decision,” the source cited above said.
