INDIA bloc meeting begins at Kharge’s residence; leaders to discuss post-poll result strategy

Congress workers were heard raising slogans in support of party leader Rahul Gandhi outside the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi.

New Delhi: An INDIA bloc leaders meeting began on Wednesday at the residence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi to discuss the strategy after the poll results.

Several INDIA bloc leaders arrived at the Congress President’s house to attend the meeting.

---

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi also arrived at the meeting.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav arrived at the residence of Kharge along with his uncle Ram Gopal Yadav ahead of the meeting to discuss a strategy to form the central government.

Congress leader KC Venugopal; Kalpana Soren, JMM MLA and wife of former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren; Revolutionary Socialist Party leader NK Premachandran also arrived at the spot.

Congress workers were heard raising slogans in support of party leader Rahul Gandhi outside the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi.

Ahead of the meeting, Jharkhand CM Champai Soren said, “We will decide our strategy as an alliance. Let the meeting begin.”

AAP MP Raghav Chaddha and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav were seen outside Kharge’s residence. Tejashwi told ANI, “NDA has numbers but we want the government which will be formed to take care of Bihar and ensure that it gets special status. It is a good opportunity for Nitish Kumar if he is the kingmaker, he should make sure that Bihar gets a special status and conduct caste-based census in the entire country. For the first time, we have seen that PM Modi’s magic has finished and he is far from the majority. He will not be able to run the government without two of his allies.”

AAP leader Raghav Chaddha said, “A meeting has been called at Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence. We will have a detailed discussion on the results of the Lok Sabha elections and we will decide our strategy as to how this alliance will move forward.” CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, NCP (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar and leader Supriya Sule also arrived at Kharge’s residence.

Yechury said, “First we will decide the importance of the results. We will consult with the alliance partners on how to move further. We have enough time. Let them (NDA) also try. So what if they (BJP) have come up as the single largest party?” Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin also reached out to attend the meeting.

Dipankar Bhattacharya, General secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, arrives at the residence of party president Mallikarjun Kharge for the INDIA alliance meeting and said, “We had decided on June 1 to meet today after the election results. This is a pre-decided meeting.” According to the Election Commission of India, the BJP won 240 seats, much lower than its 2019 tally of 303. The Congress, on the other hand, registered a strong improvement, winning 99 seats. While the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won 292 seats, the INDIA bloc crossed the 230 mark, posing stiff competition, and defying all predictions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third term, but the BJP will need the support of other parties in his coalition, primarily JD (U) chief Nitish Kumar and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu. The INDIA bloc is trying to woo some of BJP allies to pull the game in its favour.