INDIA bloc meet, slated for tomorrow, postponed after top leaders decide to skip

The Opposition INDIA bloc meeting, which was slated to be held on Wednesday, has been postponed as top leaders, including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, decided to give it a miss.

According to Congress sources, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin would not be able to travel and make it to the meeting as the Chennai airport was shut due to Cyclone Michaung, Nitish Kumar was unwell and Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav had intimated that she had prior commitments.

They said, “Considering the situation, the meeting has been called off.”

According to sources, Congress will try to reschedule the meeting two weeks later, after consulting stakeholders.

They also said Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) chief Uddhav Thackeray had agreed to attend the meeting but later cancelled his flight tickets.

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party hadn’t sent any confirmation, they said.

The Congress had called for the next Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners' meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday, December 6, as the BJP crossed the halfway mark in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, and edged past the ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh as well on Sunday morning.

The Congress on Sunday suffered a near wipeout in the Hindi heartland as it lost 3-1 to the BJP in the assembly polls, signalling the need to redraw its strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

INDIA is a coalition of big-tent political parties led by the Indian National Congress. It was formed to take on the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha poll. It was formed during an opposition party meeting in Bengaluru in July 2023.

The last opposition meeting was hosted by Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray and saw Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and chief ministers of five states in attendance. Over the two-day deliberations, the alliance discussed major electoral issues for the upcoming general elections, carved out the coordination committee, and passed a three-point resolution to fight the 2024 Indian general elections together 'as far as possible'.