The fourth meeting of the Opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc has been postponed again and it will now be held in Delhi on 19th December. Taking to X, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Sunday (10th December) made this announcement. However, he didn’t give any reasons why the meeting was postponed from 17th December.
Notably, earlier this week, RJD Supremo Lalu Yadav had stated that the meeting of the opposition bloc would be held on 17th December.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh shared a post stating, “Judega Bharat, jeetega INDIA,” amid reports of infighting between several alliance partners.
The post conveying the message both in Hindi and English read, “The 4th meeting of the leaders of INDIA parties will be held on Tuesday, December 19th, 2023 in New Delhi at 3 pm.”
INDIA की पार्टियों के नेताओं की चौथी बैठक मंगलवार 19 दिसंबर 2023 को नई दिल्ली में दोपहर 3 बजे से होगी।
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 10, 2023
The 4th meeting of the leaders of INDIA parties will be held on Tuesday December 19th, 2023 in New Delhi at 3pm.
जुड़ेगा भारत
जीतेगा INDIA!
This will be the first meeting after Congress’s poll debacle in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. As per a PTI report, the opposition bloc plans to work on a theme of unity ‘Main nahi, hum‘ at the meeting.
Notably, hours into the counting of votes for four state assembly elections on 3rd December, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had called a meeting of the opposition bloc on 6th December. By then, trends had predicted that the BJP would form government in three states while Congress managed to attain success only in Telangana.
However, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, former Uttar Pradesh CM, and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav opted out of the meeting indicating disappointment with the grand old party, citing different reasons for their inability to attend the 6th December meeting. Additionally, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin was also busy managing the Cyclone Michaung situation in the state.
As per reports, seat-sharing could likely be discussed in this fourth meeting which is one of the major bones of contention in the larger umbrella bloc of the opposition parties. Additionally, the parties could also discussion joint election campaign ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
The Opposition bloc has met three times so far
The most recent meeting of the 27 alliance parties took place in Mumbai and it was hosted by Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray. During the two-day discussions, discussed major electoral issues for the upcoming general elections and constituted a coordination committee. It also adopted a three-point resolution to collectively contest the 2024 Indian general elections “as far as possible.”
Meanwhile, the name of the opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A., an acronym for the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance was arrived at during the second meeting in Bengaluru. Whereas the first meeting was organised by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna, where the parties vowed to unite in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls to “dethrone the BJP.”
