New Delhi:

Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray is in Delhi to meet the top brass of the INDIA opposition bloc, which continues to lurch from one existential crisis to another – the latest being the BJP thumping the AAP in Delhi, and Sharad Pawar felicitating Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

On NCP boss Sharad Pawar’s actions, the junior Thackeray refused to be drawn, telling reporters, “I will not talk about (that)… it is our (the Sena faction now led by Uddhav Thackeray) to never honour a person like this (Mr Shinde) … (who) not only split our party but also Maharashtra’s spine…”

On the INDIA bloc picture, though, Mr Thackeray said he met the Congress’ Rahul Gandhi last night and will meet AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal later today. He then fired a warning about the “future of India” and tried to rally the grouping, accusing the BJP of plotting to “finish off… democracy”.

Mr Thackeray also raised red flags about election fraud and hacking of EVMs, or electronic voting machines, which the opposition claims – after every defeat – was orchestrated by the BJP.

“I met Rahul Gandhiji last night (and) today I will meet Arvind Kejriwalji. The future of our country is in doubt… today, we don’t know where our vote is going amid voter fraud and EVM fraud…”

“Are elections being held in a free-and-fair manner? We think we are living in a democracy… but it is no longer a democracy. What happened with us and Kejriwalji and the Congress… this could happen with Nitish (Kumar)ji, and Chandrababu Naiduji in the future…” he thundered.

The reference to Nitish Kumar was not lost; the Bihar Chief Minister helped found the INDIA bloc in 2023 before a dramatic jump (back) to the BJP’s camp 12 months later. He now faces a state election later this year, and there is speculation the INDIA bloc is trying to re-flip the JDU boss.

ARCHIVES | INDIA Bloc In Pieces? Amid Turmoil, Architect Nitish Kumar Exits

Mr Thackeray’s reference to Nitish – that the BJP may stack the odds to ensure its ‘ally’ loses the majority, or at least the upper hand, in their relationship, is being seen by many in this light.

Formed in June 2023 to unite opposition parties against the BJP, the INDIA bloc has flattered to impress, with only a few scattered Assembly election wins to show for its efforts.

The bloc has come under criticism – internal and external – with the bulk reserved for the Congress and its apparent inability to work with smaller parties on issues like seat-sharing before elections.

The defeat in Haryana and the BJP’s Delhi triumph have both been held up as examples of the Congress not ‘playing nice’. The Congress, however, hit back firmly; after the AAP’s Delhi defeat, party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said making other parties win is not the Congress’ responsibility.

However, questions over the INDIA bloc’s future are not new; the group’s functioning was also discussed after the 2023 Madhya Pradesh election that the BJP won comfortably.

Then too there was criticism of the Congress, at which time two key group members – Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool and Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party – delivered rebukes. Since then there has also been talk of a leadership change, with Ms Banerjee the apparent consensus pick.

Mr Thackeray, though, firmly ruled out any talk of the bloc crumbling or a leadership shuffle, stating, “There are many seniors who will prepare a roadmap. The INDIA bloc has joint leadership… there is no one leader. This is not a fight of egos but for the future of the country.”

The bloc’s next big challenge (assuming it stays together till then) is the Bihar election.

With input from agencies

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Ranchi:

INDIA alliance partners in Jharkhand are set for a “friendly battle” in three assembly seats in the upcoming assembly polls, its leaders said on Saturday.

JMM and CPI-ML have already decided to go for a friendly fight in Dhanwar assembly seat, while Congress and RJD are still trying to avoid a friendly contest in the Chhattarpur and Bishrampur seats, they said at a joint press conference here.

The elections to the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly will take place in two phases on November 13 and 20, with counting of votes to take place on November 23.

As many as 1,211 candidates are in the fray for the 81 assembly seats after completion of nomination withdrawal exercises for both phases of the election.

The JMM has fielded candidates in 43 Assembly seats, Congress in 30 seats, RJD from six and CPI-ML in four seats.

“JMM, Congress, RJD and CPI-ML are jointly contesting the Jharkhand polls under the INDIA bloc. Excluding three seats – Chhatarpur, Bishrampur and Dhanwar – seat-sharing arrangements have been settled for all the constituencies in the alliance. The JMM has decided to go for a friendly contest with CPI-ML in Dhanwar seat,” JMM general secretary Vinod Pandey told reporters.

RJD and Congress have fielded their candidates from Chhatarpur and Bishrampur seats.

“Discussions are still going on to sort out the issue on both the seats. We hope to see a result in a day or two,” Mr Pandey said, adding that the RJD was given six seats, while the CPI-ML got three seats under the INDIA bloc.

Jharkhand Congress president Keshav Mahto Kamlesh said that they would contest the polls jointly and form an INDIA alliance government again.

The INDIA bloc has not yet officially declared their seat-sharing arrangements.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren had, on October 19, said that the INDIA bloc will contest the upcoming assembly polls together and the Congress and the JMM will field candidates in 70 of 81 seats.

The remaining 11 seats would be left for the RJD and the Left parties, he had said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The fallout of the Congress’ poor show in the Haryana election – which has included a stinging attack from ally Shiv Sena (UBT) before the Maharashtra election – rumbled on Tuesday, with the Samajwadi Party snubbing a seat-share request for by-polls to 10 Uttar Pradesh Assembly seats later this year.

Akhilesh Yadav’s party – a high-profile member of the Congress-led INDIA bloc – has named candidates for six of the 10 seats. The number is significant – the Congress wanted to contest five of the seats, but the SP demurred, pointing to the two parties’ performances in the April-June general election.

The SP won 37 of 62 seats it contested. The Congress contested 17 and won six. Given those numbers (the Congress also scored 109 fewer than the SP in the 2022 state poll) the offer was only three seats.

pic.twitter.com/U8j8UEF40W

— Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) October 9, 2024

The Congress has expressed surprise over the list of six names.

The party’s state-in-charge Avinash Pandey, said, “It is true… no information was given and there has been no talks with the INDIA alliance coordination committee yet. But, as far as announcement of seats and contesting elections is concerned, whatever decision the committee takes will be accepted by us.”

“We are not overconfident in Uttar Pradesh,” he said, stating work to “strengthen and empower the organisation” and prep for the by-polls had begun. “Possibilities (of alliance) always remain…”

#WATCH | Kanpur: On Samajwadi Party releasing names of 6 candidates for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly bypolls, UP Congress in-charge Avinash Pandey says, “…It is true, no information was given to us about it. There has been no discussion with the coordination committee of… pic.twitter.com/0G1xXhg0DB

— ANI (@ANI) October 9, 2024

The Samajwadi Party releasing its list of six candidates now – for a by-poll that has not yet been announced by the Election Commission – list doesn’t just follow the Congress’ horrid time in Haryana.

In Haryana the two parties held talks over sharing of seats – as did the Congress with Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP  – but no agreement was reached in either case, with the Congress’ Bhupinder Hooda being blamed.

That failure to accommodate, as the Sena called it, is widely perceived as one of the reasons for the Congress losing a state that exit polls unanimously predicted it would win.

READ | “Arrogant, Overconfident”: Allies Slam Congress Over Haryana Loss

But the two have been locked in talks over the UP by-polls for some time, underlining the rifts within an INDIA bloc that, in many cases, has failed to convince as a viable and sustainable non-BJP alternative.

The 10 UP by-polls, therefore, are a litmus test, at least for the Congress to continue as INDIA head.

The BJP has already begun planning, eager to claim as many of these seats as possible (not that it needs them to maintain its hold on the government) to build on momentum from Haryana.

There are still two Assembly elections left this year – Maharashtra and Jharkhand – with the all-important Delhi poll, where Mr Kejriwal’s AAP will bid for a fourth straight win, scheduled for early next.

The SP’s snub, meanwhile, has also been seen as a reminder of the Congress refusing to share seats for the Madhya Pradesh election. “… seems Congress doesn’t want to partner with us”, Mr Yadav had said.

As it did in Haryana this month, the SP then fielded its own candidates in Madhya Pradesh.

The Congress would be defeated in Madhya Pradesh and watch as the BJP flipped Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, losing three heartlands states in go to inviting scathing criticism from Mr Yadav.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also attacked the Congress. Ms Banerjee’s Trinamool also had seat-sharing disputes with the Congress – before the April-June general election. With an eye on poor past performances, she would not surrender more than two of the state’s 42 Lok Sabha seats to her ‘ally’.

READ | “Defeat Of Congress, Not The People”: Mamata On BJP’s 3-State Win

The Bengal Chief Minister had said then that while the Congress had indeed won Telangana, it could have swept the other two states “if not for votes being taken by INDIA parties”.

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New Delhi:

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the INDIA bloc is with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the “fight against injustice”.

Mr Gandhi made the remarks while greeting Arvind Kejriwal on his birthday. Delhi CM Kejriwal turned 56 on Friday.

“Hearty birthday wishes to Delhi Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal. I hope you stay healthy and happy,” Mr Gandhi said on X.

“INDIA is with you in this fight against injustice,” he said.

The Congress and AAP are part of the INDIA bloc at the national level.

Mr Kejriwal, who is also the AAP national convenor, was arrested by the ED on March 21 in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

The Supreme Court has granted him interim bail in the money laundering case but he remains in jail after the CBI arrested him in a related matter.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The government has fielded Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to build consensus on the choices for the Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker post, sources have said.

The senior BJP leaders, it is learnt, have spoken to top Opposition leaders — Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, DMK leader MK Stalin and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee — on this subject. Talks are also being held with key NDA allies Telugu Desam Party and Janata Dal United, sources have said.

The deadline to file nomination for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker is 12 pm today and an election, if any, will be held tomorrow. All Speakers so far have been elected unanimously and an election, if it happens, will be a first.

The BJP is tight-lipped about its choice for the key post, but there is a buzz that Om Birla, who served as Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha, may be repeated. Mr Birla also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi this morning. In fact, Bhartruhari Mahtab, the pro-term speaker, is also being seen as a frontrunner.

Another post under the spotlight is that of the Deputy Speaker. This position is traditionally given to the Opposition. However, the BJP had appointed its ally AIADMK’s M Thambi Durai as Deputy Speaker in 2014. Since 2019, the post is vacant.

In both the 16th and the 17th Lok Sabha, there was no Leader of the Opposition, as the Congress did not have enough numbers. But this time, the Opposition has posted a good show in the general election, with the Congress winning 99 seats. So the party, backed by its allies in the INDIA Opposition bloc, will be pushing for the Deputy Speaker’s post.

In fact, according to Congress sources, Mr Kharge has already made it clear to Mr Singh that the Deputy Speaker should be from the Opposition benches. The Congress chief has said that while the Oppositions wants consensus too, healthy traditions must be followed, the sources added.

New Delhi:

During the entire election season, the BJP stood by its target of 400 Lok Sabha seats for the NDA and its slogan of ‘ab ki baar 400 paar’ in the face of relentless mocking by the opposition. If three exit polls are to be believed, the ruling party is going to have the last laugh.  

While two of the polls have given ranges with figures of just over 400 on the upper end, News 24-Today’s Chanakya has predicted 400 as the NDA’s tally. The only rider this number comes with is that the margin of error is 15 seats. The figure then becomes 385 on the lower end and an astounding 415 on the upper side.

India TV-CNX has also given similar estimates and a range of 371-401, putting the NDA just over the mammoth target if it touches the upper limit of the range. India Today-Axis My India has predicted 361-401. 

Health Warning: Exit polls often get it wrong. 

The NDA’s tally was 352 in 2019 and the BJP had won 303 seats on its own. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make history if he gets a third straight term and the party and the alliance’s leaders and election machinery will have shown their prowess if the NDA even gets the lowest end of these figures.

A tally of 361, the minimum figure predicted by India Today-Axis My India, will mean that the alliance has bettered its performance in each successive election, which would be a huge feat on its own and indicate that anti-incumbency is not much of a factor. It will also be a testament to PM Narendra Modi’s popularity.

The opposition INDIA Alliance, which said on Saturday that it will win 295 constituencies, has been given 107 (plus-minus 11) by Today’s Chanakya, 109-139 by CNX and 131-166 by Axis My India. 

With its 80 Lok Sabha seats the most important state in every election is Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP had won 62 seats in 2019, when the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party were in an alliance. The Samajwadi Party is now allied with the Congress and all three polls have the BJP bettering its tally in the state. 

News 24-Today’s Chanakya’s prediction is 68 (plus-minus 7), India Today-Axis My India’s estimate is 67-72 and India TV-CNX has given the party 70-74. 

All three polls show the NDA doing better than it did in the South in 2019. Another big headline from the three exit polls is also that the BJP will get more seats that the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, with Axis My India going as far as giving 26-31 of the state’s 42 seats to the ruling party at the Centre.

New Delhi:

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has backed the INDIA bloc to come up trumps against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, arguing that mega wins in the 2014 and 2019 polls – in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party scored 282 and 303 seats on its own, and 336 and 353 with allies – meant it had reached a saturation point in terms of votes it might win.

In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Mr Kharge said the BJP’s failure to fulfil promises made over the previous two terms (10 years) would also count against it, and highlighted issues like unemployment and the cost of living crisis to make his point – that it is necessary to remove the BJP government to “strengthen democracy and save the Constitution”.

“Even after five phases (the 2024 election is spread across seven phases, with the fifth completed on Monday and the sixth scheduled for Saturday) the INDIA bloc is ahead. This is because Modiji did not fulfil promises he made… the people waited for 10 years…”

“But today they are facing inflation on a large scale and are worried. Young children, troubled by unemployment, are wandering on the streets,” Mr Kharge told NDTV.

Formed in June last year, the INDIA bloc was expected to unite the opposition and mount a concerted challenge to Mr Modi and the BJP. The group – which includes the AAP, Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK, the Samajwadi Party, and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction as members – has fielded common candidates in a majority of the seats in this election.

However, seat-sharing disagreements with some others has meant the Congress has been forced into ‘friendly contests’, including against the Trinamool in Bengal and CPIM in Kerala. 

Many believe these fractures will materially affect the group’s chance of defeating the BJP, but Mr Kharge insisted, “The opposition is on the winning side and they are on the decline.”

To defeat the BJP the INDIA bloc will have to do two things. 

One – to retain and build on the opposition’s edge over the saffron party in the southern states. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Puducherry send 130 MPs to the Lok Sabha. In 2019, the BJP was routed in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, and won just four of 17 seats in Telangana. The only big score was in Karnataka, where it got 25 of 28 seats. An even stronger showing is needed this time around.

All the southern states have completed voting.

The second task is to slash the BJP’s advantage in the Hindi heartland. 

In 2019 the party won a staggering 204 of the 226 seats in the 10 Hindi-speaking states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. In 2014 it won 191 seats.

This is where, Mr Kharge told NDTV, the INDIA bloc will shine, insisting, “We have a lead in every state… they are decreasing. Because they have got the maximum they were supposed to get. Now they won’t get more than that. Where we lost, (now) we have jumped.”

The Congress chief said he expected positive results from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP dominated, winning 53 of 54 seats. “In Rajasthan will do well. This time we will not get zero. We will get seats in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh as well.”

In Maharashtra, where the Congress is allied with Mr Thackeray’s Shiv Sena group and Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party, Mr Kharge said, “Last time we got one seat in Maharashtra. This time we are going to get at least thirty seats.”

“We will get good seats in Karnataka (too)… 50 per cent is our target,” he said.

Referring to the overall picture, Mr Kharge said, “The trend we are getting will show that we will stop the BJP from coming back to power. I cannot say (how many we will get)… 273, 28), 290… (but) we are getting a lot, yes. We will come to power.”

On the question of a prime ministerial candidate – which the INDIA bloc does not have and which the BJP has pointed out gleefully – Mr Kharge said, “The alliance will decide.”

The Congress leader pointed out it is premature to talk about a PM face at this point, explaining, “If we have not given birth to a child, then how can I tell the size of the head?”

Kolkata:

The Congress’ Bengal boss, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, on Thursday weighed in on the ‘is she, isn’t she’ debate over Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s membership of the INDIA opposition bloc.

Responding to her “… will provide outside support (if the group wins the election)” comment Wednesday, Mr Chowdhury declared, “I don’t trust her… she left the alliance. She can also go towards the BJP.”

“What she will do from outside (the alliance) or inside… I don’t know. That you have to ask her,” the Congress leader told reporters, “But I don’t trust her. She left the alliance… she could even run to BJP.”

Mr Chowdhury – there is little love lost between him and Ms Banerjee, a fact underlined by the latter yesterday explicitly stating “… INDIA alliance doesn’t count Bengal Congress…” – also said, “Whatever complaints she has (about the bloc) she should have raised earlier, when it was created.”

#WATCH | West Bengal: On CM Mamata Banerjee’s remarks “will support INDIA bloc from outside to form govt at Centre”, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says, “I don’t trust her. She left the alliance and ran away. She can also go towards the BJP… They were talking about… pic.twitter.com/F3unHSUfD6

— ANI (@ANI) May 16, 2024

Mr Chowdhury further pointed out the apparent U-turn came after polling for nearly 70 per cent of all Lok Sabha seats, with the opposition bloc claiming big advances in its bid to oust the ruling BJP.

“They (referring to the BJP) were talking about destroying Congress and that Congress would not get 40 seats… but now (what) she is saying means Congress and INDIA are coming to power,” he said, appearing to suggest Ms Banerjee’s about-face followed a realisation the BJP will likely be defeated.

A day earlier Ms Banerjee – who had put her membership of the bloc on hold after public spats over seat-sharing deals – declared she would provide “outside support” in the event of an election win.

READ | Mamata Banerjee Redefines INDIA, Says Will Provide “Outside Support”

“We will give leadership to INDIA and help… from outside. We will form a government so our Bengal mothers and sisters… and those who work in 100-days job scheme do not face problems,” she said.

This afternoon, at a poll rally in Tamluk, Ms Banerjee underlined her position, saying, “I am very much part of INDIA… it was my brainchild. We are together at national level and will continue to be together.”

Ms Banerjee did, though, make it clear – yesterday and today – that she does not see the Congress’ state unit and the CPM, as allies. The Congress and the CPM, which is also part of the INDIA bloc, are allied in Bengal (but rivals in Kerala), but have fielded candidates against the Trinamool.

The Bengal Chief Minister has frequently attacked the Mr Chowdhury-led Congress unit, and the CPM, as having unofficially joined the BJP. “They are not with us… they are with the BJP here.”

Earlier this year, as the Congress was scrambling to confirm seat-share deals with INDIA allies ahead of voting for the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Ms Banerjee – seen as one of the group’s more cantankerous members – refused to play ball, insisting she would not give up more seats to that party than necessary.

READ | “No Tie-Up With Congress”: Mamata’s Bengal Twist Stuns INDIA Bloc

She pointed to the Congress’ abysmal record in the 2019 election – in which it won just two of 42 seats – and insisted her party had the best chance to defeat the BJP in the state.

Bengal has 42 Lok Sabha seats, of which the Trinamool won 22 last time and the BJP got 18, and Ms Banerjee reasoned the Congress simply did not have the clout to stop the saffron party in the state.

After a tension-filled few weeks in January and February, Ms Banerjee walked away from the bloc.

READ | “Even With Binoculars…”: Trinamool Sources On Congress’ 5-Seat Demand

Sources then told NDTV they could not find a third seat for the Congress “even with binoculars”.

This was after Ms Banerjee and the Congress’ Delhi unit failed to advance seat-share talks, and she hit out at what she said was a personal snub from Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’.

The Congress then said the opposition “cannot imagine INDIA without Mamataji“.

READ | “Cannot Imagine INDIA Without Mamataji“: Congress On “No Tie-Up” Jab

Amidst all this back-and-forth, Mr Chowdhury continued to attack the Trinamool, declaring Ms Banerjee – a former member of the Congress – owed her state success to the party’s “mercy”. In fact, Mr Chowdhury was fiercely opposed to the idea of an alliance with Ms Banerjee and the Trinamool.

READ | Behind INDIA Jolt, Adhir Ranjan’s Obstinacy, Trinamool’s Regional Card

The battle for Bengal is one of several headline points, with the BJP keen on continuing to make inroads into the state after its success in the 2019 general election and the 2021 state poll. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Ms Banerjee have all gone head-to-head on the campaign trail, with frequent sharp attacks on contentious topics like the citizenship law.

The state will continue to vote in each of the three remaining phases. Results are due on June 4.

With input from agencies

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New Delhi:

In September last year the INDIA opposition bloc – formed to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha election – met in Mumbai, after which it released a joint resolution that said it would contest the election “together as far as possible”. 

The phrasing raised eyebrows and underscored doubts (already raised) about the longevity of a mix of national, state, and regional parties with varying political ideologies and goals, and drew barbs from the BJP, which prophesied a collapse before the turn of the year.

READ | “Will Contest Together As Far As Possible”: INDIA Bloc On Polls

Of particular concern were seat-sharing exercises, as the next few weeks and months would show.

The bloc leader, the Congress, struggled to close deals with the Trinamool in Bengal, Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, and the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi and Punjab, while talks in Maharashtra also dragged.

These states together account for 190 seats. 

It wasn’t till a double boost in February – the Chandigarh mayoral election and a 17:63 split with the Samajwadi Party for UP’s 80 seats – that the bloc seemed to find some momentum.

And while a deal with the Trinamool never materialised, the Congress, fueled by the Chandigarh win, also struck a deal with the AAP for Punjab’s 13 and Delhi’s seven seats.

Eventually, though, the bloc did manage a few deals, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, and Jammu and Kashmir, and is now a firm challenger to the BJP’s hat-trick bid.

But all isn’t smooth sailing because INDIA vs INDIA subplots have emerged not only in states where there are no seat-share deals – like Kerala and Bengal – and in states where there are. 

READ | 

The Congress-led group faces ‘friendly’ fire in all 13 states voting in this phase.

Kerala 

In Kerala, the Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist) – INDIA members outside the state – will contest all 20 seats against the Congress. 

READ | Shashi Tharoor’s Thiruvananthapuram Winning Streak In BJP’s Crosshair

This means three of the party’s senior-most leaders – Rahul Gandhi (the Amethi question is still unanswered), Shashi Tharoor, and KC Venugopal – must all fight Left leaders and BJP rivals in their contests from Wayanad, Thiruvananthapuram, and Alappuzha, respectively.

READ | BJP Lurks, As INDIA Battles INDIA In Rahul Gandhi’s Wayanad

Bengal 

It is also obviously the case in Bengal, where the Congress and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool had quite a dramatic falling out over failed seat-share talks. 

This means a Trinamool-less INDIA, rebadged as the Secular Democratic Alliance, has fielded candidates for the Darjeeling and Raiganj seats, while the Revolutionary Socialist Party will contest from Balurghat. All three of these were won by the BJP in the last election.

Maharashtra

The Congress is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, which includes the Shiv Sena faction led by ex-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the Nationalist Congress Party unit of Sharad Pawar.

The three have agreed a seat-share deal between themselves, but it wasn’t one the smaller parties – the CPI, CPM, All India Forward Bloc, and Bharat Adivasi Party – liked.

As a result, four of the eight seats in this phase will see a ‘friendly’ contest.

Amravati will see a Congress vs AIFB contest, while Hingoli and Parbhani will see Thackeray camp leaders against those from the CPIM and CPI. And in Wardha, Mr Pawar’s NCP faction will contest against another AIFB candidate.

Rajasthan 

The Congress, as head of the INDIA bloc has agreed a 22:1:1:1 split, with the BAP, Rashtriya Lok Party, and CPIM getting a seat each. 

But the BAP has also fielded candidates in five other seats, setting up a contest the Congress could probably do without in a state that it was thumped – by the BJP – in the last Assembly election. 

Other States

Similar contests are on the cards in Assam’s Silchar (Congress vs Trinamool), Bihar’s Purnia (Rashtriya Janata Dal vs AIFB), Jammu (Congress vs AIFB), and Damoh in Madhya Pradesh (Congress vs BAP). 

There are two such contests in Karnataka, including the Bengaluru Rural seat being contested by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s brother, DK Suresh, who will face a Viduthalai Chiruthaigai Katchi candidate.

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New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted last opportunity to the Centre and Opposition parties to file their responses on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) for directions to prohibit the use of the acronym INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) by opposition political alliances.

The Delhi High Court refused to prepone hearing in the PIL against the opposition political parties using the acronym INDIA while hearing the petitioner’s application seeking an early hearing of the matter in view of the general election schedule notified by ECI.

The first phase of voting for the 2024 general elections is on April 19.

The bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora gave the one last opportunity to file the replies, saying “it would try to hear and dispose of the matter on April 10”.

Recently, the Election Commission of India (ECI), in its reply to the Delhi High Court, said that it can’t regulate political alliances while responding to a plea against the use of the INDIA acronym for the alliance of opposition parties.

“The answering respondent (ECI) is constituted under Article 324 of the Constitution of India for superintendence, direction and control of the conduct of all elections to Parliament, state legislatures and the offices of President and Vice President,” the ECI stated.

The authority of the answering respondent is to be exercised in accordance with the law passed by Parliament, albeit the answering respondent has the authority to regulate matters concerning elections in the absence of any contrary law in force, the poll panel said.

“The answering respondent has been vested with the authority to register associations of bodies or individuals of a political party in terms of Section 29A of the Representation of People Act, 1951 (the “RP Act”),” it added.

Political alliances are not recognised as regulated entities under the Representation of People’s Act or the Constitution.

Earlier, the Delhi High Court had sought a response from the Centre, the ECI and several opposition political parties on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) for direction to opposition political parties against the use of the acronym INDIA for their political alliance.

The court also sought responses from opposition parties named in the petition.

Petitioner Girish Upadhya, through Advocate Vaibhav Singh, stated that several political parties are using the national flag as the logo of their alliance, which is a further strategic move to attract and gain sympathy and votes from innocent citizens and as a tool to give a nudge or a spark that may lead to political hatred, which eventually will lead to political violence.

The plea alleged that political parties are using the acronym INDIA with malicious intent which will only act as a factor for “diminishing the goodwill of our great nation i.e., India (Bharat), not only in our country but also on various international platforms”.

The plea stated that if the term INDIA is used by the Indian and International Media as an acronym but not in its full form (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) it will create a sense of confusion among innocent citizens if the alliance i.e. INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) is defeated or loses the general election of 2024 then it would be projected as India as a whole is defeated, which will hurt the sentiment of innocent citizens of the country again which may lead to political violence in the country.

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