At I-N-D-I-A meet, Arvind Kejriwal demands seat-sharing discussion for all states

Pic/PTI

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said his party demanded that seat-sharing across the country be discussed at the meeting of the Opposition's I-N-D-I-A alliance in Mumbai, reported news agency PTI.

When asked what transpired at the informal I-N-D-I-A meet of the alliance leaders in the evening, the Delhi chief minister said his party sought seat-sharing discussions for all the states, reported PTI.

"The meeting was good," Arvind Kejriwal told PTI.

A formal I-N-D-I-A meet would be taking place on Friday.

Meanwhile, when asked if seat-sharing was discussed, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said, "It will be discussed soon," reported PTI.

Top leaders of the Opposition's INDIA alliance held talks in an informal setting in Mumbai on Thursday evening to chart out a concrete roadmap and evolve a structure for cooperation among the alliance partners to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I-N-D-I-A) met informally and were understood to have deliberated on fixing agenda of the formal meeting on Friday when key decisions about the alliance's future strategy would be taken.

"The meeting was good. You will know the details tomorrow," Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray told reporters.

Thackeray hosted dinner for the INDIA leaders after the meeting.

The run-up to the meeting saw the Adani issue take centre stage with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi holding a press conference on the premises of Grand Hyatt hotel in suburban Santacruz where the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I-N-D-I-A) leaders had gathered.

Before the start of the meeting in the evening, Gandhi was seen chatting with Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Aaditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut and Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) Supriya Sule and Jayant Patil.

Uddhav Thackeray and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar were also seen sharing light moments ahead of the meeting.

Prominent opposition leaders including West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav and former Jammu and Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah had arrived in Mumbai earlier.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary, among others, arrived on Thursday.

The I-N-D-I-A bloc is likely to announce a coordination committee as well as unveil a logo for the alliance.

(With inputs from PTI)