Seat sharing talks likely at today’s INDIA bloc meeting: Raghav Chadha

NEW DELHI: Amid ongoing speculation over whether AAP and Congress can agree to a seat sharing arrangement under the INDIA alliance in Delhi and Punjab where the former is in power, MP Raghav Chadha on Tuesday said that matters related to seat sharing across states are likely to be taken up at the first meeting of the 14 – member coordination committee on Wednesday.
“No discussion around seat-sharing has happened within the INDIA alliance so far. Most likely this conversation is likely to commence at the first meeting of the coordination committee of the INDIA Alliance at Sharad Pawar’s (NCP supremo) residence in Delhi on Wednesday,” Chadha who is a member of the committee representing AAP said in an interview to TOI.
“Tomorrow is the very first meeting of the coordination committee of the alliance where we will first decide the agenda of the meeting. The endeavour is to finalise the issues that the alliance should take to the masses and provide a solution; decide on the contours of the mass outreach; and finally the seat sharing conversations which will happen state wise. No uniform formula applies to all states and each state is unique with different electoral climate,” he added.
“We all have to remember that for an alliance like this to be successful mahatvakanksha (ambition), matbhed (difference of opinion) and manbhed (difference of mind) need to be sacrificed and set aside. Every single participant of this alliance needs to recognise this,” Chadha said.
“The AAP with a view to protect India’s democracy and Constitution, has joined this alliance and has come together with various political parties in order to defeat a dictatorial and anti-democratic regime of the BJP. Today, our country is battling with several challenges, from inflation to price rise to unemployment to agrarian crisis and we need a government at the Centre that has a blueprint to solve all these challenges,” he added.
In response to a question on how AAP which once projected itself as an “alternative” was now joining those very parties under the opposition alliance, Chadha said, “First of all there is unity within the INDIA alliance on the issues that are plaguing India currently but that does not mean uniformity on every single issue. Unity in an alliance does not mean we should be on the same page and same stage on all issues.”
“Just as in 1977 under the banner of Janata party the socialists, the communists, the Jansanghis, the right wingers and left wingers everyone got together to defeat the mighty (then PM) Indira Gandhi’s regime, in the year 2024 something similar is happening where people have sacrificed personal as well as political differences to come together as INDIA alliance for the larger good of the country. And the outcome of the 1977 electoral battle (when Janata party won) is what is going to repeat itself in 2024,” Chadha added.