Seat-sharing may wait, INDIA to put in place groups, structure at Mumbai meeting

The idea of appointing a convenor for the INDIA alliance remains a contentious proposal, with more than one leader vying for the post and with many parties not enthusiastic about giving any one of them a leg-up by selecting a leader from its ranks as chairperson or convenor.

But the leaders – during an informal get-together Thursday followed by the formal sitting on Friday – could agree on setting up various committees, including one to discuss the tricky seat-sharing issue, with clear timelines.

A suggestion was made by some quarters for a sub-group to identify common talking points, to ensure synergy in communication in social media platforms. That apart, the parties are expected to announce a coordination committee as well as the details of a secretariat for campaign management.

“It is high time we put in place a structure and architecture. The heads of the parties cannot be meeting every month in a new location,” one leader said ahead of the meeting.

Thursday’s schedule includes an informal meeting and a dinner hosted by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray. The informal setting, it is hoped, will help iron out issues such as the Congress’s unhappiness over the Aam Aadmi Party entering the poll fray in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and the AAP’s ire, in turn, over over the confusing signals emanating from the grand old party on seat-sharing in Delhi.

The mixed messages coming from Opposition heavyweight Sharad Pawar are also disconcerting many leaders. The NCP supremo is holding back on clearing the air over his relationship with nephew Ajit Pawar, who rebelled and joined the NDA government in Maharashtra.

As for seat-sharing, the most difficult issue in front of the gathering, the leaders could avoid it again, sources said. While the broad contours of seat distribution may be discussed, the negotiations to work out the details could be left to a committee of leaders.

“We have not started discussing seat-sharing yet. It is possible that the next steps (on seat-sharing) will be discussed. If that happens, then some people will be given the responsibility for the same,” Pawar told reporters at a press conference he addressed in Mumbai on Wednesday, along with Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aaditya, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole, senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan and NCP state president Jayant Patil.

Pawar announced that around 63 representatives from 28 political parties will participate in the meeting. “We believe that this alternative forum will help the transfer of power.”

The Bengaluru meeting was attended by 26 parties. There was no clarity Monday on which are the two new entrants, with sources identifying one of them as the Peasants and Workers Party.

On whether a convenor would be appointed for the alliance, Uddhav said: “Let’s wait for the meeting and deliberations to take place.” He added: “Does anyone know who the convenor of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is?”

The Sena (UBT) leader also parried a question on the prime ministerial face of the alliance – a political minefield which INDIA wants to avoid, for the same reasons as not having a convenor, so as to avoid rocking political equations.

“We have so many choices on who can become the next PM of the country. But the question is what choice does the BJP have, since we have all seen the functioning of the present Prime Minister. Are all happy with him?” asked Uddhav.

The issue did create some flutter Wednesday after an AAP spokesperson pitched Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as the Opposition bloc’s PM candidate. The party moved quickly to deny this in a damage-control exercise.

Asked whether parties like the Akali Dal or the AIMIM could join INDIA, Pawar said he had held talks with a few of them, but that the decision to include them needs the approval of others in the front as well.

On the BSP specifically, Pawar said: “It is learnt that Mayawati is in discussion with BJP. She needs to give clarity on her stance. Once that is clear, we can have a discussion about her coming to INDIA.”

On differences among the parties, the NCP chief expressed confidence about working out a common minimum programme.

Uddhav said rather than calling INDIA ‘Opposition’, he preferred to call the grouping a safeguard for ‘Bharat Mata’ against an authoritative regime. “Yes, all of us are of different ideologies. But our aim is to safeguard the Constitution… We are here to safeguard democracy. We will not let any dictator chain Bharat Mata.”

On the Centre’s decision to reduce the price of gas cylinders by Rs 200, Uddhav said the PM had forgotten his “sisters” for the past nine years and remembered them suddenly ahead of the elections.

Former CM and Congress leader Ashok Chavan said that just as a brother vows to take care of his sister on Raksha Bandhan, the INDIA front vows to protect Bharat Mata. “Mumbai has been the origin of many political, social and financial revolutions… This meeting will pave the way for another revolution,” he said, adding that together, the parties in INDIA had polled 23.40 crore votes in 2019, against the BJP’s 22 crore. “The numbers are evident.”