INDIA leaders push for quick decisions, plans for 2024 polls

A sense of urgency gripped the meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) in Mumbai on Thursday as leaders from 28 opposition parties attempted to hammer out strategies for poll preparations for the first time, hours after the government announced a surprise special session of Parliament in two weeks

- Saubhadra Chatterji

At the informal gathering, chief ministers Mamata Banerjee and Nitish Kumar asked the alliance leaders to “take quick decisions” and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal suggested that seat-sharing talks must start at the state-level, said leaders aware of developments. Several leaders in the bloc also cautioned against early general elections, which is due in April-May 2024.

At the meeting, Banerjee suggested that the alliance should identify an agenda comprising five or six issues and start the poll campaign by announcing those issues from Rajghat on October 2, said the leaders cited above. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray too, advised leaders to act fast as they speculated that the elections might take place early, the leaders added.