At the Mumbai meeting on Friday, the Opposition Bloc of India passed a decision which assures that they would confront each other in the coming Parliamentary elections as early as possible and set up seat sharing arrangements for various states without any delay. This resolution follows the declaration of a parliamentary remarkable session held from 18 to 22 September, which has created an uproar across the country with expectations that significant decisions will take place prior to the elections in 2024.
“As a matter of fact, we have resolved to contest the coming Lok Sabha elections together with all India’s parties. Arrangement of seat-sharing in various states will be done immediately and concluded at the earliest in a collaborative spirit of give-and-take,” the resolution passed by the Opposition bloc in the INDIA Mumbai meeting said.
The opposition bloc has also set up a 13 member coordination panel, according to the most recent reports from news agency PTI. The leaders from 28 opposition parties in Mumbai slammed the government’s move to set up an inquiry panel on feasibility for a single nation election and declared that they will reject it. The development comes after the Union government decided to set up a committee, led by former President Ram Nath Kovind, for studying feasibility of an election between one nation and another before Parliament’s special session.
It was on the opening day of the annual meeting of the Indian bloc in Mumbai that a Special Parliamentary Session was announced, which aroused widespread discussion during the session. Political leaders, including the Chief Ministers of Bihar Nitish Kumar and West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, had talked earlier about a government’s desire to call early parliamentary elections.
“We’re looking for a fair election, not ‘one nation, one election’. This idea of ‘one nation one election’ is being brought to distract us from our demand for a fair election,” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said. Communist Party of India D Raja, who has not discussed this with another party, was questioning the government’s decision. He pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been talking about India becoming a mother of democracy, and how could he ignore all parties in making this decision?
The Opposition bloc is feeling a sense of urgency as a result of the intensifying political climate. Mamata Banerjee has asked the INDIA group to release its manifesto by October 2 and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has asked the Opposition parties to complete the sharing agreement by the end of September.
