INDIA Alliance Mumbai Meeting: The third meeting of the Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was held in Mumbai on Friday. Opposition leaders of at least 28 parties gathered in the financial capital to plan their strategy and roadmap for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. During the meeting, the INDIA alliance bloc resolved to fight the next year’s general elections together “as far as possible”.

“We, the INDIA parties, hereby resolve to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections together as far as possible,” the resolution of the INDIA alliance said.

Amid the  buzz  over ‘One Nation One Election’, the Opposition leaders also resolved to reach a seat sharing pact in a “collaborative spirit of give and take”. The Modi government Friday formed a committee to explore the possibilities of simultaneous state and Lok Sabha elections. While the leaders of INIDA bloc denounced the move, they decided to fast track their seat sharing arrangement.

“Seat-sharing arrangements in different states will be initiated immediately and concluded at the earliest in a collaborative spirit of give-and-take,” said the resolution.

Public rallies of INDIA alliance to start soon

The resolution taken during the Mumbai meeting also said that the parties will “organise public rallies at the earliest in different parts of the country on issues of public concern and importance”.

The them of their campaign will be ‘Judega Bharat, Jiteega India’. It was also decided in the resolution that INDIA alliance partners will coordinate among themselves on political communication and media strategies.

“We, the INDIA parties, hereby resolve to coordinate our respective communications and media strategies and campaigns with the theme in different languages,” the resolution said.

Opposition slams Centre over sudden ‘special session of Parliament’ 

INDIA alliance partner and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge slammed the Narendra Modi government for its sudden decision to call a special session of Parliament without informing the Opposition and announcing agenda of it. Kharge said that a special session was not called at the time of migrant crisis or when Manipur was burning but it has been called now.

“Today, without asking anyone, the opposition, a special session of Parliament has been called. A special session of Parliament was never called even when Manipur was burning, during the COVID-19 pandemic, on the issue of China or over issues of demonetisation and migrant labourers. I don’t what is the agenda now. This is not the way to run the country. We are slowly going towards dictatorship,” Kharge said.

In the absence of any official agenda for special session, there are speculations that the government is planning to dissolve the Parliament and go for early elections. However, the Centre has neither confirmed nor denied it.