INDIA Alliance meet postponed after top leaders back out

INDIA Alliance meet postponed after top leaders back out

An INDIA Alliance meeting scheduled for Wednesday in Delhi has been postponed, likely to be held in the third week of December 2023, “at a date convenient to all”, according to sources. The meeting was called by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday, after Congress was handed with major setback in three states, namely Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav had decided to skip the meeting.

“I don’t know…”: Mamata Banerjee

When asked whether she would attend the meeting, Mamata Banerjee said that she was not aware of any such meeting and already had plans in her state. She added that if she had known of this meeting beforehand, she would have planned and kept her schedule accordingly.

“No plans to attend meeting”: SP Spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhury

Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhury said that SP President Akhilesh Yadav had no plans to attend the meeting, citing that there was no prior information. “The Samajwadi Party national president has no plans to attend the meeting of the INDIA bloc tomorrow. Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav or any other leader authorised by the national president will go for the meeting,” said Chaudhury. SP President Akhilesh Yadav said at an event in Varanasi, without naming the Congress party said, “Ab parinaam aa gaya hai toh ahankar bhi khatam ho gaya. Aane wale samay mein phir rasta niklega” (Now that the results have come, the ego has also ended. In the coming days, we will find a way.) The SP President added that SP’s fight in UP is bigger and the party will make “big decisions”. “The talks will start from where they began. Wherever a party is strong, others should support it,” added Mr. Yadav. The SP on Monday skipped a meeting convened by Kharge in Delhi. The party is reportedly upset with the Congress for not allying with SP in the Madhya Pradesh elections and is especially disgruntled at how they have been treated. “Madhya Pradesh Congress President Kamal Nath’s “indecent” remarks against Akhilesh Yadav,” said SP leader privy to the developments.

Not keen to attend meeting: Nitish Kumar

Bihar CM and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar was reportedly not keen on attending the meeting. Kumar had previously remarked that the Congress is too busy with the state elections to give any attention to the Alliance. “After Opposition parties came together to forge the national alliance against the BJP, we gained some momentum. But there has not been much progress as the Congress seems to be more interested in the Assembly elections in five states,” said that JD(U) leader.

Congress vs SP: A brief

The war of words between the Congress and the SP over seat-sharing in Madhya Pradesh has been going on for a while. Akhilesh Yadav has been taking digs at the Congress party at various public meetings. In October, Akhilesh alleged that Congress is untrustworthy for their unwillingness to share seats with an Alliance party in the state level. When asked about the allegations, Madhya Pradesh Congress President Kamal Nath retorted, “Are bhai chhodo Akhilesh Vakhilesh” (Skip questions on Akhilesh). On Sunday, referring to this comment by Kamal Nath, SP spokesperson Manoj Kumar Yadav alleged that Congress’ indecency has hurt the sentiments of the Bahujan class and the backward class, costing them the state elections.

On November 5, 2023, Akhilesh called Congress a “chalu party” (cunning party). On November 14, 2023, Akhilesh slammed the Congress over not conducting a caste census when they were in power, stating that the Congress is only pushing for it now because they have realised that they are no longer getting the votes of the backward classes, the Dalits and the Scheduled Tribes.

Chinks in the alliance?

The Congress has also been heavily criticised by the leaders of the Alliance, namely JKNC leader Omar Abdullah and Mamata Banerjee. On December 4, a day after Congress’ defeat in three states, Omar Abdullah said that the Congress should have shared a few seats with the SP in Madhya Pradesh. “Jis tarah in State elections mein INDIA Alliance ka haal raha, agar agey jaake bhi yehi haal rahega to hum shayyad bach nehi payenge” (Considering the state of the INDIA Alliance in these state elections, if this persists we may not be able to survive), added Omar Abdullah, hinting at his apprehension for the future of the Alliance.

TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee said at the West Bengal Assembly that Congress lost in the Hindi heartland because of the division of votes that the Congress could avoid with seat-sharing. “We always wanted seat-sharing. This is the loss of Congress, not the loss of people. BJP won because of vote-cutting by some alliance parties or smaller parties… I still believe the BJP will not come to power in 2024 if there is seat-sharing,” said Mamata Banerjee from the Assembly.