Fourth INDIA bloc meet likely between Dec 17-20, seat sharing to top agenda as Lok Sabha elections near

Seat-sharing agreements is going to be on the top of the agenda at the upcoming meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc. The meeting, which was earlier called on December 6 but later deferred, is likely to be held between December 17 and 20, PTI reported, citing sources.

The meeting is likely to be held in the third week of December, although the final date has not been finalised.

The December 6 meeting was scheduled to be held at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in Delhi, however, it was deferred when several CMs of the states, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, had skipped the event, citing several reasons. Later, Congress said that the meeting was deferred to the third week of December at a date “convenient to all”.

On Wednesday, a meeting of the floor leaders of INDIA bloc parties at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence with a focus on discussing the parliamentary strategy for both Houses.

The Opposition leaders have been pressing for a decision on seat sharing in the states of India, so that candidates have enough time to campaign and also have an ear to the ground.

Notably, at the swearing-in ceremony of Telangana Chief Minister and Congress leader Revanth Reddy held on Thursday, only a representative of the West Bengal-based Trinamool Congress (TMC), which is a constituent of INDIA, was present. The member was TMC MP Derek O’Brien. Reddy had personally extended an invite to Banerjee, but she reportedly could not attend due to pre-scheduled engagements.

The seat-sharing matter was also raised by leaders of the TMC during a meeting of opposition leaders that was held on Monday morning to decide the strategy for the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.

So far three INDIA bloc meetings have happened. First one was in Patna, Bihar, second was in Karnataka’s Bengaluru, and the last meeting of the INDIA bloc was held from August 31 – September 1 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. On September 13, a meeting of the Coordination Committee of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) was held in New Delhi.