INDIA bloc’s Dec 6 meet postponed, as regional satraps decide to skip Cong-led gathering

New Delhi: The INDIA bloc has postponed its proposed December 6 meet, scheduled after Congress crushing defeat in the recently held Assembly elections. The decision to call off INDIA meet comes on back of top leadership of alliance partners expressing their unwillingness to attend the Congress-led gathering.

The decision to call off the crucial INDIA meet in Delhi came after many top leaders of leading alliance partners decided to give the ‘election introspection meeting’ a miss. Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, currently sharing frosty ties with Congress, was first to deny his presence. Soon came, the red signal came from Lalu Yadav-led RJD and Nitish Kumar-led JD(U), who expressed inability to attend and rather sending representative to meet.

Latest reports suggest that DMK Chief & Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren have also made them unavailable for the summit, citing their previous engagement.

Adding salt to Congress’ wounds

Political pundits see this as a classic case of adding insult to Congress’s injury by the regional satraps, who have become ‘more demanding’ and perhaps now want to negotiate a ‘better deal’ with Gandhis – led party in taking on the BJP in the Parliamentary elections in 2024.

The call for INDIA meet on December 6 in Delhi was given by Congress party after it got wiped out in Hindi heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh & Rajasthan. With key allies opting out, it has agreed for a later date this month but the resentment within the ‘rainbow alliance’ is certainly coming to fore.

There have been widespread reports of differences & resentment building within the alliance over its name, its election strategy and framework for elections. Nitish & Lalu are understood to be disappointed with sidelining of Nitish as chief co-ordinator of the political bloc while Mamata recently slammed the Congress over its ‘zamindari mindset’ functioning.

The INDIA bloc is a coalition of many political parties under the stewardship of Congress. It was formed to challenge the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre in 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

In past 2-3 meetings, the INDIA bloc members met with high optimism & confidence to evolve a new election strategy to take on the ‘dominant’ BJP, however, a larger consensus still evades them.