At CPI rally, Nitish Kumar blames Congress for INDIA bloc losing steam
INDIA constituents in September resolved to contest the 2024 elections together “as far as possible” and said seat-sharing arrangements in states will be initiated immediately
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who spearheaded the initiative of uniting opposition parties ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections which resulted in the formation of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) opposition bloc, on Thursday for the first time accepted that “nothing much is happening” with the bloc’s objectives and that “things have slowed down”.
Speaking at a ‘BJP Bhagao, Desh Bachao’ rally organised by the CPI in state capital Patna, Kumar expressed his frustration over the recent turn of events with the INDIA alliance and showed his displeasure on the Congress party for not paying attention to the bloc.
“We spoke with all the parties, urged them to unite and protect the country from those who are trying to alter its history. For this, meetings were held in Patna and elsewhere. INDIA alliance was formed but nothing much is happening. There are assembly elections in five states. The Congress party is more interested in those. We were all working together to take forward the Congress party, but they are not worried about all this right now. They are busy with the five state elections. So, after the state polls, they themselves will call everyone,” Kumar said.
Incidentally, other Grand Alliance partners including the Rashtriya Janata Dal who were invited for the rally were conspicuous by their absence. Only last week, the Congress had invited RJD president Lalu Prasad at party state headquarters Sadaquat Ashram to inaugurate a function to celebrate Bihar’s first chief minister Sri Krishna Singh’s birth anniversary.
“Let whatever is happening, happen. We were doing all this to unite the country and to save the country from those who are in power today. We are going to take everyone together. We are socialist people. We have an old relationship with CPI. Communists and socialists have to move forward united,” Kumar said.
CPI general secretary D Raja, too, accepted glitches in seat sharing. “The main aim of all parties is to defeat BJP. But all parties have their own aspirations and identity which is creating problems in coordination. Talks are on and we will sort out the issues,” Raja told media persons. “Our country is in a very bad shape, the BJP has destroyed the nation,” he added.
INDIA constituents in September resolved to contest the 2024 elections together “as far as possible” and said seat-sharing arrangements in states will be initiated immediately and concluded at the earliest in a “collaborative spirit of give-and-take”.
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram will go to the polls between November 7 and 30, and the results will be declared on December 3. This will be the last major electoral exercise ahead of the 2024 elections. The assembly polls are also the first since 26 Opposition parties formed the INDIA bloc in July to take on the BJP in the 2024 general elections.