9/1/23, 7:24 PM Opposition's INDIA forms coordination panel, says 'will contest Lok Sabha polls together as far

;will contest Lok Sabha polls together as far as possible' - Times of India

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Opposition's INDIA forms coordination panel, says

'will contest Lok Sabha polls together as far as
possible'
TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Sep 1, 2023, 06.39 PM IST

NEW DELHI: The opposition parties, that have come together

under the banner of INDIA (Indian National Developmental
Inclusive Alliance), on Friday announced a 14-member
coordination panel for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The 14
members on the panel are from 14 different parties.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who was one of the front
runners to become the national convener, is not a part of the
panel. In fact, some of the big names like Rahul Gandhi, Arvind
Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Mallikarjun Kharge, Uddhav Thackeray
are not part of the panel.

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Rahul Gandhi attacks PM Modi, says 'if INDIA parties unite, it will
be impossible for BJP to win polls'

Meanwhile, the BJP attacked the bloc for not having any vision or providing a roadmap for the country's future.
'Together, as far as possible ... '
The 28 parties participating in the third meeting of the opposition coalition in Mumbai have resolved to contest
the next Lok Sabha elections together as far as possible. They also agreed to hold public rallies together in
different parts of the country on issues of importance and concern. The INDIA parties will also coordinate their
respective communications and media strategies and campaigns under the theme Judega Bharat, Jiteega India
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9/1/23, 7:24 PM Opposition's INDIA forms coordination panel, says 'will contest Lok Sabha polls together as far as possible' - Times of India

in different languages.

On the contentious issue of seat-sharing, the parties have decided to immediately initiate talks in different states
and conclude it at the earliest in a collaborative spirit of give-and-take.

The 14 members included in the coordination panel are:

1. KC Venugopal (INC)
2. Sharad Pawar (NCP)
3. T R Baalu (DMK)
4. MK Stalin (DMK)
5. Sanjay Raut (SS)
6. Tejashwi Yadav (RJD)
7. Abhishek Banerjee (TMC)
8. Raghav Chadda (AAP)
9. Javed Ali Khan (SP)
10. Lallan Singh JD(U)
11. Hemant Soren (JMM)
12. D Raja (CPI)
13. Oman Abdullah (NC)
14. Mehbooba Mufti (PDP)

'Impossible for BJP to win polls if oppn unites'

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reiterated his charge of nexus between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
businessman Gautam Adani and alleged that the Prime Minister and the BJP are in a "nexus of corruption."

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9/1/23, 7:24 PM Opposition's INDIA forms coordination panel, says 'will contest Lok Sabha polls together as far as possible' - Times of India

"The Prime Minister should clear his stance on this issue before the G20 meeting," Rahul said and alleged that the
Modi government is extracting money from the poor and transferring it to the rich.

Rahul also asserted that it will be impossible for the BJP to win the polls if the parties unite as the INDIA alliance
represents 60 per cent of India's population.

"This stage (INDIA alliance) represents 60 per cent of India's population. If the parties in the state unites it is
impossible for the BJP to win. The task is to come together in the most efficient way possible," Rahul Gandhi said.

'Paanch saal loot, elections ke samay chhoot'

Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray said the INDIA parties have resolved to end the atmosphere of fear in the
country. Taking a dig at the Centre's decision to lower the prices of LPG in view of the elections, Thackeray said
the moto of this government is 'Paanch saal loot, elections ke samay chhoot.' He said the opposition bloc was
getting stronger with every passing day and our unity was creating panic among our rivals.

Uddhav said the INDIA parties have resolved to fight against corruption. We won't allow 'mitra-parivarvad'," he
said seeking to buttress its allegation of crony capitalism against the BJP. The term 'mitra-parivarvad' also
appeared to be a counter to the BJP's allegation of nepotism against the opposition parties.

'Modi govt is stealing from poor to help big industrialists'

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the opposition coalition will fight issues of inflation and
unemployment that has made the life of common man difficult. He accused PM Modi of favouring the rich and
doing little for the poor. The Modi govt is stealing from poor to help big industrialists, he said. The Congress
president reiterated the charge of misusing central agencies like the CBI and the ED. "The way these central
agencies are being misused by the present government is unprecedented," Kharge said.

'Those in power today will be defeated'

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9/1/23, 7:24 PM Opposition's INDIA forms coordination panel, says 'will contest Lok Sabha polls together as far as possible' - Times of India

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said those in power today will be defeated. He accused the Modi government of
controlling the media. "Today, those in government do little work, but the media speaks and writes a lot about
them. On the other hand, so much of good work is being done by those in the opposition, but that is not
reported," Nitish alleged. "There is no certainty, elections can be held early, we've to remain alert; we have
discussed this," the Bihar CM said.

'Never seen such an arrogant govt'

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the present government at the Centre was so arrogant that they
have started thinking they are above the God. Their arrogance will lead to their downfall, he said. "INDIA is not an
alliance of some parties; it is alliance of 140 crore Indians who want to build a new India," Kejriwal said.

Recurrent theme is to abuse PM: BJP

The BJP reacted to the third meeting of the alliance and attacked it for not having any vision or roadmap for the
country's future.

"In the third meeting of the so-called alliance, there was no vision for the development of India, no roadmap for
the upliftment of the poor, no strategy to address concerns of farmers or women and children," said BJP leader
Ravi Shankar Prasad.

"The most important thing is that there was not even an acknowledgement of the threat to India from terrorism,
radicalisation and successionist forces ... Their only recurrent theme is to abuse PM Narendra Modi," he added.

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