Seat-Sharing, Campaign Strategy To Be On Agenda At I.N.D.I.A's First Coordination Panel Meet Today

The meeting, which will take place at NCP chief Sharad Pawar's residence, will chalk out the seat-sharing formula and the campaign strategy ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

New Delhi: The first meeting of the 14-member opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc's Coordination Committee will be held in the national capital on Wednesday. The meeting, which will take place at Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar's residence, will chalk out the seat-sharing formula and the campaign strategy ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, reported PTI. 

As per the agency, leaders from various opposition parties have called for an early seat-sharing formula to be worked out to ensure that a joint candidate is put up from the opposition side against the BJP candidates in Lok Sabha seats.

Ahead of the meeting, RJD leader Shakti Singh Yadav said, "Everybody will come and put their points forward. All the gatherings of the INDIA alliance have been successful. Everybody has one aspiration, that is, the country should come out of the feeling of fear."

Panel member Raghav Chadha said it will have discussions on issues like reaching out to people, planning joint rallies, and working out door-to-door campaigns, which will be different for each state.

"Every political party will have to sacrifice three things to make this alliance successful - ambition ('mahatvakanksha), difference of opinion (mathbhed) and manbhed," Chadha said.

JD(U) leader KC Tyagi said that the meeting will be very crucial in terms of campaigns and for articulating issues. "Tomorrow's meeting is very crucial in terms of campaigns and for articulating issues. From October 2, Jan Sabha's will be conducted, for which tomorrow's meeting has been called."

Abhishek Banerjee, who was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate to appear before it on the same day, will not attend the meeting.

The CPI-M will also be absent at the meeting since it has not yet nominated any member to the committee.

The coordination cum election strategy committee of the opposition's I.N.D.I.A bloc has 14 members - K C Venugopal (Congress), T R Baalu (DMK), Hemant Soren (JMM), Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena-UBT), Tejashwi Yadav (RJD), Raghav Chadha (AAP), Javed Ali Khan (SP), Lalan Singh (JD-U), D Raja (CPI), Omar Abdullah (National Conference), Mehbooba Mufti (PDP), Abhishek Banerjee (TMC), and a member from CPI-M.

At the first meeting of the Opposition bloc in Patna in June, it was decided that the strongest candidate from each seat would be picked up for the Lok Sabha polls.

After the third meeting of the bloc in Mumbai, the resolution issued on September 1 said the parties would contest polls together "as far as possible", and that seat sharing in arrangements in different states would be "initiated immediately" and concluded "at the earliest".

Over two dozen opposition parties have formed the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) to take on the BJP-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.