Why Is The INDIA Bloc Still Confused On Seat-Sharing?
The INDIA bloc is a group of 28 opposition parties that came together to fight against the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party, the BJP, in next year’s elections.
The idea was to sort out who gets to contest from which seat in different states. But 53 days have passed, and there’s no update on this.
The delay is mainly because the Congress party is waiting for the results of the upcoming state elections. They think if they win more states, they will have a stronger position to talk about seat-sharing with their allies.
These elections are happening next month in five states: Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram. So, Congress is kind of keeping everyone waiting.
For discussing seat-sharing, the states are divided into three types: A, B, and C. ‘A’ states are where some seat-sharing agreements are already in place.
‘B’ states are those where Congress is the main party among the INDIA bloc. ‘C’ states are all the remaining states where lots of talks and negotiations are expected to happen.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, says that the INDIA alliance represents 60% of the country. That’s more than what the BJP represents, according to him.
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On the other side, the BJP is exposing the INDIA bloc at multiple levels. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that while these parties are trying to join hands at the national level, they can’t stop fighting among themselves in the states. Last time, there was a Red Diary controversy between both parties.
He pointed out that even after talks, Congress did not give any seats to Samajwadi Party in Madhya Pradesh, causing tension between them.
The Congress party is holding off on seat-sharing talks, waiting for a stronger position after state elections. The states are divided into three categories for these discussions.
Rahul Gandhi believes his alliance has more people’s support than the BJP. But the reality is that I.N.D.I.A. alliance is weak, broken into several parts, and already falling apart.