News Brief
INDI Alliance Leaders To Meet Virtually Today, Selection Of Convenor Among Key Issues To Be Discussed: Report
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
The leaders of the opposition's INDI alliance are scheduled for a virtual meeting at 6.30 pm today (4 January) to discuss key issues that may influence the trajectory of the upcoming general elections.
The main issue on the schedule include the pivotal choice of the convenor for the INDI Alliance and a unified plan to challenge the BJP in the 2024 general elections.
Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, has risen as a leading candidate for the role of convenor.
His candidacy has received backing not just from his own party, Janata Dal (United), but also from the broader coalition.
Tejashwi Yadav, who is the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) member, recently voiced his trust in Kumar's experienced leadership.
"Nitish Kumar is such a senior leader. If such a proposal comes, it will be great for Bihar," Mr Yadav said on Wednesday.
Selecting a convener is merely one aspect of the numerous obstacles the INDI bloc encounters.
The question of how to distribute seats among the parties continues to be a complicated issue, but it can be "sorted" in due course, according to Yadav.
"We came together in Bihar after which efforts were made to bring together parties opposed to the BJP across the country, which culminated in the formation of the INDIA bloc. Hence, there is no reason to worry about seat-sharing. It will be sorted out in good time," he asserted.
The gathering of the Opposition coincides with a period where Arvind Kejriwal, leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and current Chief Minister of Delhi, a member of the INDIA bloc, is under the threat of arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) due to his purported role in the Delhi liquor policy scam.
Parties within the INDI bloc are uniting under the "Main Nahin, Hum" (We, Not Me) slogan to oppose the NDA alliance led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Despite this shared goal, the opposition alliance has not yet established an alternative common programme or appoint a convener, a spokesperson, and a common secretariat.
The recent triumphs of the BJP in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh have escalated the pressure on the opposition to form a unified front. The near elimination of the Congress in the Hindi heartland could compel them to rethink their strategy.
INDIA bloc's first meeting was held in Patna on 23 June, the second in Bengaluru on July 17-18, and the third in Mumbai between 31 August and 1 September.
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