NEW DELHI: A difference of opinion has surfaced in the opposition INDIA bloc over the venue of its fourth meeting, with many parties accusing the Congress of trying to dominate. The Congress is insisting on the meeting in a city within the poll-bound states of Madhya Pradesh or Chhattisgarh.
However, the parties like Janata Dal (U), Samajwadi Party, NCP and others are advocating it to be held in Delhi.
The Samajwadi Party has given reasons for the choice of the venue, stressing that it should not create an impression that the Congress, as the grand old party, is attempting to assume an elder brother’s role in the opposition alliance.
The Congress sources have refuted this argument, emphasising that any victory by a member of the coalition will undoubtedly bolster and contribute to the success of thee INDIA bloc.
So far, the opposition bloc has conducted three meetings with the first at Ptna, coordinated by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar of JD(U), followed by Bengaluru where the Congress wrested power from the BJP this year and then in Mumbai under the arrangement with the MVA allince partners–the Congress, the NCP and the Shiv Sena of Thackeray group.
During the Mumbai meeting, the general consensus was to hold the forthcoming gathering in Bhopal, coinciding with the inaugural joint public rally featuring leaders of various parties.
However, soon after the coordination committee meeting at Delhi residence of Sharad Pawar, the Bhopal rally was cancelled in the backdrop of the mssive controversy over the Sanatan Dharma fuled by alliance partner DMK.
“The modalities and date of the meeeting are yet to be finalised, though the decision was to hold it someetime in the first fortnight of October. Delhi was also considered in the last meeting but Bhopal remains the preferred one for many leaders,” a top Congress leader said.
In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress had emerged victorious in the previous Assembly elections and held the government for a year and how until a setback of a faction of the party MLAs led by Jyotiraditya Scindia defected to the BJP, resulting in the formation of the BJP government there.
There have been differences also on the call of the media boycott by the INDIA bloc, with the JD(U) and Samajwadi Party have expressed their reservation. These parties are also opposing the Congress initiatie to host the fourth meeting in Bhopal, noting that the grand old party has a stronger electoral advantage in the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh.
“The Congress attitude is still that of the elder brother. They did so in the media boycott call and we had to rally behind it,” a JD(U) leader said. Already, Nitish Kumar seems to be increasingly out of sync with the RJD on its “backward versus forward” politics. The Bihar CM is, however, happy at the Congress backing him on the OBC census.
The INDIA block in West Bengal is also in tatters, with the Left declaring no truck with the Trinamul Congress and the latter fighting an ongoing war of words with Congress accusing the tri-colour party’s Bengal unit of playing second fiddle to the BJP. Reacting sharply to a remark by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Mamata Banerjee’s trip abroad, TMC spokesman Kunal Ghosh said: “He is sounding like a BJP leader…he seems to have a plan to weaken the INDIA alliance.”
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