INDIA bloc leaders to meet tomorrow to discuss govt formation

The leaders of the INDIA bloc will meet on Wednesday to hold discussions on the formation of new government, according to PTI.

The leaders will meet at the residence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi at 6 pm.

Defying all expectations and pollsters’ predictions, the INDIA bloc put up a tough fight and stopped the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) short of the majority-mark. As per the latest figures with the CNN-News 18, the INDIA bloc has 234 seats whereas the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has 292. Even though the BJP at 240 has been stopped short of the majority-mark, the NDA is well past the mark of 272.

The agency reported that the Opposition leaders expected to attend the meeting include Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) Sharad Pawar, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Jharkhand CM Champai Soren, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav, CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D Raja, and Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.

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INDIA bloc leaders to discuss roping in TDP, JD (U)

The INDIA bloc leaders will discuss whether to rope in Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) to form the government, said sources to PTI.

Both JD (U) and TDP are recent additions to the NDA and are kingmakers within the alliance. Without their support, the NDA government cannot be formed.

Both JD (U) and TDP have a record of dumping the BJP and JD (U) has a long history of being a partner of INDIA bloc’s parties in Bihar, such as the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

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Sources told the agency that Congress and other leaders are in touch with the two parties.

On the record, however, both the TDP and JD (U) have said that they would remain within the NDA.

The agency reported that that the INDIA bloc “may offer an olive branch” to the TDP and JD (U) to bring them into its fold.

Separately, ABP News has reported that the INDIA bloc has offered Bihar CM and JD (U) chief Nitish Kumar the post of Deputy Prime Minister to lure him into the alliance. The report further said that the bloc has offered to give Andhra Pradesh the status of a special state to bring TDP into its fold.