The Congress has deferred the meeting of its INDIA bloc allies called by party president Mallikarjun Kharge on December 6 after several leaders said they plan to skip it. The Congress said that it will be re-scheduled to the third week of December at a date convenient to all.
Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday had expressed her unavailability to attend the meeting, saying that she will be visiting North Bengal from December 6 to December 11. With Tamil Nadu recovering from the heavy rainfall brought in by Cyclone Michaung, Chief Minister M K Stalin, too, would have been unable to attend the meeting. Meanwhile, JD(U) president and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is unwell.
Sources had said Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, too, would be unable to attend the meeting.
The Congress party’s defeat in the Hindi heartland - Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh - has landed it in trouble with its INDIA allies, with both Yadav and Banerjee sending strong message to the party.
Yadav, without naming the Congress, said, “Ab parinaam aa gaya hai toh ahankar bhi khatam ho gaya. Aane wale samay mein phir rasta niklega (Now that the results are out, the ego has also ended. In the coming days, a new way forward will be found).” The alliance had hit a rough patch in the run-up to the polls, after seat-sharing talks between the SP and Congress fell through in Madhya Pradesh. Yadav had then remarked, “Only during the MP polls did I find out that the INDIA alliance is only for the Lok Sabha. The question is about credibility. If the Congress behaves like this, who will stand with them?”
Mamata, meanwhile, hit out at the Congress saying it would have won in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan had they agreed to share seats. “INDIA parties cut some votes and this is the truth. We had suggested a seat-sharing arrangement. They lost because of division of votes,” the TMC chief said.