The leaders of INDI Alliance are going to meet in New Delhi on June 1 to discuss the future course of action after the results of the Lok Sabha polls are announced on June 4. The meeting will be held at the residence of Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
Heads of opposition parties, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, AAP MP Sanjay Singh, and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, are going to attend the meeting.
“This is an informal meeting. In this, we will only discuss what kind of preparation we should have on the day of counting and how our people should be alert, whether it is about EVMs or the 17C form is used… Just for our own sake, we are holding this meeting to train our people and to give them information,” Kharge said at a press conference held in the AICC headquarters in New Delhi on May 31.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said that she would not be able to attend the meeting due to the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections and relief operations for Cyclone Remal. She said, “The INDIA bloc had earlier said they would hold a meeting on June 1. I told them I couldn't go as we will still have polls here, like in a few other states. How could I go with cyclones and relief centres on one side and elections on the other?”
Apart from Mamata, Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin will also not attend the meeting today. DMK’s parliamentary party leader, TR Baalu will be attending in his place.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti also said that she is likely to skip the opposition bloc meeting to be held today due to personal reasons.
“I may not go as my mom has undergone an eye surgery,” she told PTI.
Both the National Conference (NC) and PDP were invited to the INDIA bloc meeting. NC president Farooq Abdullah left for New Delhi from Srinagar today morning.
A total of 28 opposition parties have formed a coalition under the banner of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Coalition (INDIA) to face and defeat BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.