Meeting of 'INDIA' front called by Congress postponed after leaders of constituent parties expressed inconvenience

NEW DELHI: The meeting of the 'INDIA' front called by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence on December 6, has been postponed after other party leaders expressed their inconvenience. Meanwhile, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad Yadav announced that a meeting of party chiefs will be held on December 17. The meeting was called to start the discussions regarding Lok Sabha seats. The stand of the constituent parties is a setback for the Congress, which suffered a miserable defeat in four of the five states where assembly elections were held recently.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who took the initiative for the front, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, and Uttar Pradesh Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav are among the leaders who expressed inconvenience. Mamata said that she would not be able to attend the meeting as she was busy with some pre-arranged programs. Stalin expressed inconvenience to attend the meeting because of the floods in Chennai. Nitish Kumar and Akhilesh Yadav informed the Congress that they will send representatives.

The Congress, which had believed that it would be able to come into power singlehandedly in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, had been unwilling to share assembly seats with the other parties in the front. This did not go down well with parties, including SP and Aam Aadmi Party.

After the formation of the INDIA Front, no discussions have taken place to reach an agreement on seat sharing. Nitish Kumar had alleged that Congress was only interested in the recently held assembly elections. The Congress calculated that by winning the assembly elections in the Hindi-speaking states, it could consolidate its dominance in the front.

Congress does not have strength to face BJP
1. Following its defeat in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the Congress has been criticised in the INDIA front that it doesn't have the strength to compete with the BJP in the Hindi belt.

2. The idea that anti-BJP parties should stand united after realizing the Congress's weakness is gaining traction, given the significance of the Hindi belt in the Lok Sabha elections.

3. According to the opposition leaders, the the failure of Congress-Samajwadi Party seat agreement in Madhya Pradesh is a big setback. Aam Aadmi Party and CPM had contested alone in the state.