BOLSTERED BY the gains in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, top leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc met Wednesday and indicated a restraint rather than a proactive push to explore government formation. While the Congress was not in a mood to scout for numbers now, some of the parties, including the Shiv Sena and Trinamool Congress, leaned on the side of exploring options.
Almost all the leaders who attended the meeting at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence felt the people’s mandate was against the BJP, the fact — many of them underscored — nevertheless is that the BJP has emerged as the single largest party and the NDA, a pre- poll coalition, has crossed the halfway mark. The majority view, at the end of the meeting, was that the INDIA bloc should wait and watch for now.
Calling the mandate a reply to the BJP government, the coalition resolved to “continue to fight against the fascist rule of the BJP led by (Narendra) Modi”.
India alliance leaders after meeting at Mallikarjun Kharge residence in New Delhi.
“We will take appropriate steps at the appropriate time to realize the people’s desire not to be ruled by the BJP’s government. This is our decision,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, reading out a joint statement of the alliance.
The first draft of the statement was vague on the opposition’s willingness to explore options, now or later. At the instance of several leaders, the draft was revised and the line that it will take “appropriate steps at the appropriate time” to realize the people’s desire not to be ruled by the BJP’s government was added.
The choice of words in the INDIA bloc statement on the verdict was interesting as it said the “people’s mandate has given a befitting reply to the BJP and their politics of hate, corruption and deprivation”.
“The constituents of the INDIA bloc thank the people of India for the overwhelming support received by our allies. The people’s mandate has given a befitting reply to the BJP and their politics of hate, corruption and deprivation. This is a mandate in defense of the Constitution of India, against price rise, unemployment and crony capitalism and also to save democracy,” it said.
Calling the mandate a reply to the BJP government, the coalition resolved to “continue to fight against the fascist rule of the BJP led by (Narendra) Modi”.
In his opening remarks at the meeting, Kharge, on the other hand, said the mandate was “decisively” against Modi and the “substance and style” of his politics. “It is a huge political loss for him personally apart from being a clear moral defeat as well,” he said.
Talking to The Indian Express after the meeting, one leader said, “The assessment was that the popular mandate was against Modi and his policies… and in favor of the issues that we had raised. So it is our responsibility to fulfill the people’s aspirations. But technically we don’t have the numbers so let’s wait for an appropriate opportunity and appropriate time. On the floor of Parliament… when issues will come for discussion… a confidence vote is taken up. Let’s see the attitude of the BJP’s allies, where they stand and how they will act.”
With the BJP-led NDA set to stake claim for the government Friday, the Opposition meeting drew a wide range of leaders, including Congress’s Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and veterans such as NCP’s Sharad Pawar.
But there were two notable absentees, too — TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Uddhav Thackeray. Both sent their representatives instead. The TMC was represented at the meeting by Mamata’s nephew and senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee. The meeting was held at Kharge’s residence soon after the NDA elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its leader.
At the outset, Kharge said Modi is “determined to subvert the will of the people” and then added “the INDIA bloc welcomes all parties which share a fundamental commitment to the values enshrined in the Preamble to our Constitution and to its many provisions for economic , social and political justice”.
Sources said some leaders were of the view that the alliance should invite TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar to the Opposition camp. Some of the INDIA leaders are in touch with them, they said. TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee, who was in favor of the alliance exploring options for cobbling numbers, told the meeting that three MPs of the BJP are in touch with him.
While the TDP has won 16 seats, the JD(U) has 12. The INDIA bloc has managed to secure 232 seats. Congress’s allies in Rajasthan — the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party and the Bharat Adivasi Party — won one seat each. The Opposition alliance is short of 38 seats from the halfway mark of 272.
Although Mamata skipped the meeting, the TMC’s presence was reassuring to many of the parties. The TMC had fought the elections in the state alone against the BJP and Congress-Left combine while remaining part of the larger alliance. Thackeray was represented by senior leaders Sanjay Raut and Arvind Sawant.
The Opposition meeting was also attended by senior Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and others such as Tamil Nadu CM and DMK chief MK Stalin, SP’s Akhilesh Yadav and RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav. CPM’s Sitaram Yechury, CPI’s D Raja, Jharkhand Chief Minister and JMM leader Champai Soren, and AAP’s Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha, also attended the meeting.
The other leaders present included CPI(ML)’s Dipankar Bhattacharya, National Conference’s Omar Abdullah, Muslim League’s Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal and PK Kunhalikutty, KC(M)’s Jose K Mani, VCK’s Thol Thirumavalavan, RSP’s NK Premachandran, MMK’s MH Jawahirullah, Forward Bloc’s G Devarajan and KMDK’s ER Eswaran.
Before the meeting, asked if the Opposition is looking at getting the numbers to stake claim for the government, Tejashwi said, “We have come for the meeting today. Have patience, wait and watch what happens.”