New Delhi: The INDIA bloc got a leg up as Rahul Gandhi and Tejaswi Yadav sealed a deal for the coming Bihar assembly elections and decided to take on the ruling NDA together.
According to Congress insiders, the state leaders of the alliance parties Congress, RJD and the Left parties were set to hold their first official meeting in state capital Patna on April 17 but the meeting of the central leadership of both the Congress and the RJD in Delhi on Tuesday sent a strong signal in Bihar politics.
The Congress insiders further said that during the meeting, held at the residence of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, the broad contours of the alliance were firmed up including the need to take on the ruling JD-U-bjp combine. For this a coordination committee involving the senior leaders of the INDIA bloc would be set up soon. The panel would help identify the issues relevant for the opposition and would also coordinate joint campaigns to maximize the impact among the voters.
According to Congress insiders, the meeting also decided that the coming assembly elections likely to be held in October will be fought on the principle of collective leadership and the face of the alliance would be discussed among the partners after the elections.
The alliance also decided that seat-sharing would be taken up at a later stage but would be completed in a reasonable time frame before the elections. Also, INDIA bloc would keep its doors open for RLJP leader Pashupati Paras and other smaller groups but a decision on taking them would be finalized together.
“This was the first meeting of the alliance. More such interactions will take place over the coming days. The main focus was on how to strengthen the alliance. We are committed to providing a strong, positive, just and welfare-oriented alternative to the people of Bihar. The people want a change this time. They will be relieved of the ruling JD-U-BJP combine which is opportunist and has been duping them,” AICC secretary in charge of Bihar Sushil Pasi told ETV Bharat.
“The focus of the alliance would be on raising the concerns of the youth, women, farmers, workers, backwards and extremely backward groups. When the alliance was in power, a scheme to give a subsidy of Rs 2 lakh for those with income less than Rs 6,000 was started to push small industry. The scheme benefited 94 lakh households but once Nitish Kumar got the support of the saffron party, the plan was dropped. The promise of development through double engine governments is false. The government is supposed to pull people out of poverty and not push them into it,” he said.
The Congress had got 70 out of 243 seats in the 2020 elections under an alliance with the RJD and the Left parties but could win only 19 seats. As Rahul Gandhi adopted an aggressive stance in the state and deployed an entirely new team from top to bottom, the rivals started a whisper campaign that there were differences within the alliance.
According to Congress legislative party leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan, a strong Congress meant a strong alliance but it was important for the grouping to be seen together and flag issues together.
“A coordination committee would be a good idea. It will help coordinate the various activities of the alliance. We should be seen fighting for issues affecting the people in one voice. The seat sharing is important but would be taken up at the appropriate time. Again, contrary to popular perception, we are more concerned about getting the sure shot seats than remaining stuck on a figure. The focus of the alliance should be to win maximum seats together,” Khan told ETV Bharat.
