GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 25th Jan. A strategy to prevent the Bharatiya Janata Party from winning the Lok Sabha for a third time in 2024 had been formulated by the opposition party leaders, which included Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and veteran Congresswoman Sonia Gandhi. That idea appears to have been derailed now. The INDIA alliance’s member parties appear to be at odds with one another on the allocation of seats.
Each party had its own electoral plan
The election date is not being announced yet, but at each party, they have already developed their strategies, and there is a clear lack of collegiality. They are all unwilling to relinquish seats to outsiders in their majority states, which is why West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has dealt a serious blow to the INDIA coalition. On Wednesday, she declared that she would run alone in the Lok Sabha elections. According to Mamta Banerjee, she was forced to make this choice since the Congress rejected the TMC’s proposal. In a similar vein, Punjab has also dealt a serious blow to the INDIA alliance, following West Bengal. Aam Aadmi Party will contest elections alone in Punjab. The AAP has made plans to run a solo campaign for each of Punjab’s 13 Lok Sabha seats.
Arvind Kejriwal concurred as well
In fact, Arvind Kejriwal has also approved the Punjab organization’s proposal to contest the elections alone. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has already said this several times in the public forum. A formal announcement will be made in a few days. On the other hand, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said that, “I had no discussion with the Congress party. I have always said that we will fight alone in Bengal. I am not worried about what will be done in the country but we are a secular party and we will single-handedly defeat BJP in Bengal.” Mamta said that, “I am part of the INDIA alliance. Rahul Gandhi’s Nyay Yatra is passing through our state but we have not been informed about it.”
Congress and TMC had no discussions about seat sharing
Congress and the TMC had been at odds over seat sharing for a very long time. TMC declared it would run a solo campaign in the Lok Sabha elections after negotiations broke down between the two parties. It is evident that the INDIA Alliance has lost a player ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Thus, the situation worsened
Congress reportedly wanted 10–12 seats, while TMC was only willing to offer 2. Yet this was not what Congress was prepared for. Everything went wrong at this point. The TMC had offered Congress the two Lok Sabha seats it had won in 2019—Baharampur and Malda South—but Congress was not prepared for this. Following this declaration, Mamata Banerjee’s TMC would run a single candidate for each of Bengal’s 42 seats in the election. Recently, the Bengal Congress State President Adhir Chaudhary delivered the “Ekla Chalo” message. At a program in Siliguri, Adhir had stated, “I have achieved victory only by fighting”. I don’t care about anyone, I don’t care about politics. I completed the task at hand. I know that I must battle and prevail. I defeated the Trinamool and BJP. I am all set to battle for a hundred times. Congress has absolute power.”
Giriraj Singh, the Union Minister, made a major statement
Union Minister Giriraj Singh made a significant comment today following the TMC’s decision that it will run its own campaign in Bengal. The BJP leader claimed that Mamata is Bengal’s Kim Jong. Eliminating TMC from Bengal is crucial.” According to Giriraj Singh, the Congress-TMC figure is 36. This is a coalition of egotistical interests. For Rahul, why would Mamata give up her seat? When seen in this light, the INDI Opposition—which existed even prior to the elections—is on the one hand.
The BJP has launched its election campaign in Bulandshahr
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has prepared for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. According to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sources, today, the first electoral campaign, stage set for PM’s rally in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. The Bulandshahr rally will usher start the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign. Party workers and BJP leaders are hard at work making arrangements, anticipating a big turnout in western Uttar Pradesh.
Interestingly, the BJP now controls 8 of the 14 seats in western Uttar Pradesh, after losing six seats there in the 2019 election. However, the PM is gearing up to alter this in the 2024 elections. With the intention of connecting with voters and supporters in previously contested districts and spreading the mantra of triumph, PM Modi is scheduled to begin the election campaign from Bulandshahr. PM Modi’s rally in Bulandshahr is expected to draw approximately five lakh attendees, according to the BJP.
INDIA appears to be slipping away from its hold on the country as the opposition alliance appears to be fraying. Instead of battling their shared foe, the BJP, the opposition parties are fiercely battling one another before they can agree on a seat-sharing plan.
Concerns about seat sharing threaten the INDIA group’s chances of unseating the NDA government, which is running for a third term in a row, and taking power at the Centre. The INDIA bloc’s attempt to form coalitions has been hampered by Mamata’s statement. Furthermore, the INDIA group is led by no one, in contrast to the NDA, which is characterized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its imposing face. This may present the BJP with an opportunity to argue that the INDIA alliance lacks a clear leader.
