Express News Service
MUMBAI: Opposition bloc leaders on Friday decided to set up of a 14-member coordination committee that will act as the top decision-making body of the INDIA alliance and start work on seat sharing.
“NCP chief Sharad Pawar is the only senior-most leader on the 14-member committee. The Congress will be represented by its general secretary K C Venugopal. It was decided that Pawar should be given a free hand to resolve all contentious issues,” well-placed sources said requesting anonymity.
The bloc also decided to unveil its vision document on the Gandhi Jayanti (October 2) day at Raj Ghat in Delhi. The vision document will have inputs from the coordination committee. It is expected to promise farm loan waiver, focus on bringing down inflation, and generate jobs.
The Congress tried to push for the appointment of a convenor but regional parties opposed it saying it would mean projecting the prime minister’s face of Opposition. “We should not fall in the trap of the BJP by giving or projecting any particular face. Once the convenor is appointed, the media will project it as PM face of Opposition. That will hurt other regional parties and work to the advantage of the BJP. Therefore, the conscious decision was taken not to appoint a convenor immediately,” sources said.
At the meeting, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee pushed for starting seat-sharing talks amid buzz that the Centre could go for snap polls. “Time should not be wasted in needless meetings. A seat-sharing formula for the Bengal issue should be also found,” Mamata said.
The source said seat-sharing talks will start soon. Within a month, there will be clarity over it. “In most of the states, seat-sharing issues are more and less sorted. The unresolved states are West Bengal, Delhi, and Punjab. In West Bengal, there are three important parties – the Left, Congress, and Trinamool Congress. Mamata does not want to concede any seat to the Left and just a few seats to the Congress. But we are confident that Pawar will resolve it at the coordinating committee,” said a senior leader.
In the meeting, several leaders were not happy with the proposed logo of INDIA and sought changes. “It was to be unveiled on Thursday, but many leaders sought changes, so it was put off,” sources said.
MUMBAI: Opposition bloc leaders on Friday decided to set up of a 14-member coordination committee that will act as the top decision-making body of the INDIA alliance and start work on seat sharing.
“NCP chief Sharad Pawar is the only senior-most leader on the 14-member committee. The Congress will be represented by its general secretary K C Venugopal. It was decided that Pawar should be given a free hand to resolve all contentious issues,” well-placed sources said requesting anonymity.
The bloc also decided to unveil its vision document on the Gandhi Jayanti (October 2) day at Raj Ghat in Delhi. The vision document will have inputs from the coordination committee. It is expected to promise farm loan waiver, focus on bringing down inflation, and generate jobs.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
The Congress tried to push for the appointment of a convenor but regional parties opposed it saying it would mean projecting the prime minister’s face of Opposition. “We should not fall in the trap of the BJP by giving or projecting any particular face. Once the convenor is appointed, the media will project it as PM face of Opposition. That will hurt other regional parties and work to the advantage of the BJP. Therefore, the conscious decision was taken not to appoint a convenor immediately,” sources said.
At the meeting, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee pushed for starting seat-sharing talks amid buzz that the Centre could go for snap polls. “Time should not be wasted in needless meetings. A seat-sharing formula for the Bengal issue should be also found,” Mamata said.
The source said seat-sharing talks will start soon. Within a month, there will be clarity over it. “In most of the states, seat-sharing issues are more and less sorted. The unresolved states are West Bengal, Delhi, and Punjab. In West Bengal, there are three important parties – the Left, Congress, and Trinamool Congress. Mamata does not want to concede any seat to the Left and just a few seats to the Congress. But we are confident that Pawar will resolve it at the coordinating committee,” said a senior leader.
In the meeting, several leaders were not happy with the proposed logo of INDIA and sought changes. “It was to be unveiled on Thursday, but many leaders sought changes, so it was put off,” sources said.
