INDIA Alliance Meeting Live Updates: After an informal meeting on Thursday, 31 August, members of the India National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) coalition held formal discussions on Friday, 1 September in Mumbai in which a 14-member coordination committee was constituted.
Watch the press briefing LIVE here:
The committee comprises of the following leaders:
Sharad Pawar, NCP
KC Venugopal, Congress
Tejaswi Yadav, RJD
Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena (UBT)
Lalan Singh, JD(U)
Abhishek Banerjee, TMC
Raghav Chadha, AAP
Hemant Soren, JMM
Mehbooba Mufti, PDP
Omar Abdullah, NC
TR Balu, DMK
D Raja, CPI(M)
Javed Ali Khan, SP
One more member of the CPI(M) will be announced later, Sanjay Raut told the media. The alliance also passed a resolution to contest the 2024 elections together and design coordinated strategies for campaigns.
Key decisions taken in the meeting:
Contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections together as far as possible.
Seat-sharing arrangements in different states will be initiated immediately and concluded at the earliest in a collaborative spirit of give-and-take
Organise public rallies at the earliest in different parts of the country on issues of public concern and importance.
Coordinate respective communications and media strategies and campaigns with the theme 'Judega Bharat, Jiteega India' in different languages.
The coalition had announced on Thursday that seat sharing would be finalised by 30 September.
The meeting on Friday was attended by over 63 representatives across 26 parties.
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'Chalked Strategies for the Nation for the Past 2 Days': Sharad Pawar
"We had discussions over the problems of the country and chalking future strategies for the same for the past two days. All parties came to the state. Be it shiv Sena or the Congress or members of the NCP, they all did their part in organising this meet, I thank them for that," Pawar said.
"They call us 'ghamandia' but it only shows their arrogance. They cannot see people coming together for the betterment of the nation," he added.
'INDIA Alliance Represents 60% of the Country': Rahul Gandhi
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that key decisions have been taken in order to strategise for the 2024 elections.
"This stage represents 60% of the Indian population. If the parties on this stage unite, it is impossible for the BJP to win. The task in front of us to come together in the most efficient way possible. The first step is the coordination committee and committees under that committee. And the second is to expedite seat sharing across parties," Rahul Gandhi said.
"There are difference of course but I am impressed the way they have been minimised and ironed out," he added.
'BJP is Rattled by Unity of Secular Forces': Sitaram Yechury
CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said that the BJP needs to be kept out of power to save the Constitution.
"The sharing of seats will vary from state to state but teh general underilinig is clear - it is to save democracy, equality for all, and justice for all," Yechury said.
'I Opened Bank Account Thinking I'll Get Promised Swiss Bank Money': Lalu Yadav
"We have always called for ousting the BJP from power. The minorities are not safe anymore, they don't feel safe anymore. Poverty is on the rise. Tomatoes have become tasteless because of rising prices," RJD chief Lalu Yadav said.
"You might remember how much they lied to come to power. They claimed that all os us have money in Swiss Bank. He said he will bring the money back and get Rs 15 lakh in every Indian's accounts. My children and wife also opened accounts hoping we will get that money back," Lalu added.