Framing joint campaign strategy on cards during INDIA bloc's Mumbai meet

Opposition leaders from the INDIA bloc are gearing up for an intensive gathering scheduled to take place over two days in Mumbai commencing on Thursday This significant event is poised to witness the unveiling of pivotal decisions and discussions as the opposition gears up for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections against the ruling NDA coalitionPTI reported that the INDIA bloc would chalk out a joint campaign strategy to take on the NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and iron out the differences among themselves The leaders are also likely to announce a few panels to draft a common minimum programme of the alliance to frame joint plans for holding agitations across the country and for seat sharingThe Mumbai meeting shall come out with a clearcut roadmap for providing a progressive alternative to the regressive policies of the current regime RJDs Manoj Jha told PTIThe INDIA bloc is also likely to announce a secretariat for smooth coordination between the constituents and it is likely to be set up in the national capital Besides the members will also discuss the issue of having a coordinator or a chairperson to head the allianceBihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is the frontrunner for the convenors post There are also talks of former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi being considered to head the allianceAlso read Nitish Kumar himself does not aspire to become PM JDU leader Shravan KumarAccording to sources while Kumar has already announced that he is not in the race for the convernors post Gandhi has privately expressed that she was against the proposalThe leaders some of whom have started arriving here for the twoday conclave will take forward deliberations on contentious issues such as seat sharing RJD president Lalu Prasad and his son Bihars Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav are already in MumbaiThere are speculations of some more regional outfits joining the 26party opposition alliance at its Mumbai conclave which is the third in a series of meetings held in Patna and BengaluruThe INDIA blocs first meeting was held in Patna in June while the second one took place in Bengaluru in midJuly The Bengaluru conclave had finalised the name of the alliance Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance INDIAAhead of the Mumbai meeting Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has reiterated that his drive to forge the opposition unity was not prompted by any personal ambitions and he would like someone else to be made convener of the opposition coalitionI have been maintaining since the beginning that I have no desire for myself I have no personal ambitions I dont want anything Somebody else could be given the responsibility convener post My only wish is to unite the maximum number of parties opposed to BJP before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls I am working in this direction only Kumar saidHe had on Sunday said that a few more political parties were likely to join the INDIA alliance during its Mumbai meeting Kumar however did not reveal the names of the likely entrants to the blocWe will discuss issues related to seat sharing and will also finalise several other agenda in the Mumbai meeting A few more political parties will join the INDIA coalition and it will be announced in the next meeting Kumar had saidMaharashtra Congress president Nana Patole has said that the INDIA bloc will coin the slogan BJP Chale Jao BJP Go Away at the meetingHe said the grouping has many capable candidates for the prime ministers post and claimed that some parties which are currently constituents of the BJPled National Democratic Alliance NDA may switch over to the INDIA blocAhead of the conclave Congress leader Milind Deora said that seat sharing for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls among alliance partners is more or less finalised in most states barring a few that require more timeDeora who is closely involved in organising the meeting also hailed the evolving chemistry between the INDIA bloc partners and said the best example of that was in MaharashtraThe Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising the Shiv Sena UBT Nationalist Congress Party NCP and Congress has formed several committees to plan various aspects of the meeting of the opposition blocThis is the first meeting of the opposition INDIA alliance in a state where none of the bloc members are in power Unity would be the key focus of the meetingINDIA bloc constituent the RLDs chief Jayant Chaudhary has dismissed as conjecture the talks about the possibility of his party switching over to the NDA and said parties would not be comfortable in joining hands with the BJP which is very effective at steamrolling dissenting voicesIn an interview with PTI ahead of the conclave the Rashtriya Lok Dal RLD leader also said the Congress has a big role going forward as it is a wellunderstood brand with many people across the country voting for the party for a long timeAt the conclave held in the Karnataka capital last month Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had said the opposition will fight the 2024 elections unitedly and succeed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had said their fight was against BJPs ideology Agencies