Congress calls for next INDIA bloc meet on December 6 amid BJP’s big wins

Congress called for the next Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners' meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday, December 6, as the BJP crossed the halfway mark in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, and edged past the ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh as well on Sunday morning.

Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge dialled the alliance partners, including Indian National Congress (INC), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), and Trinamool Congress, and informed them about the meeting.

The meeting will take place a few days after the results of the elections held in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram. The next INDIA bloc meeting, therefore, is significant as the December 3 results are a crucial prelude to the Lok Sabha polls next year.

INDIA is a coalition of big-tent political parties led by the Indian National Congress. It was formed to take on the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha poll. It was formed during an opposition party meeting in Bengaluru in July 2023.

The last opposition meeting was hosted by Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray and saw Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and chief ministers of five states in attendance. Over the two-day deliberations, the alliance discussed major electoral issues for the upcoming general elections, carved out the coordination committee, and passed a three-point resolution to fight the 2024 Indian general elections together 'as far as possible'.

Janata Dal (United) General Secretary Nikhil Mandal, on Sunday morning, took to microblogging site X over Congress’ poor performance in the assembly elections held in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.

Slamming Congress’ leadership, Mandal said INDIA alliance should be led by Nitish Kumar. He said Congress remained preoccupied with the elections in five states and ignored the alliance, but they did not perform well and the results are out. He added that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was architect of the alliance and could navigate the ship through the rough circumstances.