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Congress forms 5-member panel to discuss seat sharing with INDIA allies
The announcement of the committee by Venugopal came minutes before the fourth meeting of the INDIA group in Delhi was scheduled to begin on Tuesday
New Delhi: The Congress party on Tuesday announced a five-member national alliance committee (NAC) comprising five senior leaders to negotiate with INDIA allies to adjust seats for the 2024 parliamentary polls.
The NAC, headed by party leader Mukul Wasnik designated as convenor, has two former chief ministers Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel, former Union minister Salman Khurshid, and veteran party leader, Mohan Prakash.
“In the run-up to the General Elections-2024, Hon’ble Congress president has constituted a National Alliance Committee, as follows, with immediate effect,” said a communique issued by party general secretary KC Venugopal.
The announcement of the committee by Venugopal came minutes before the fourth meeting of the INDIA group in Delhi was scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
The inclusion of five senior leaders of the party in the panel indicates that they would be allowed a free hand in negotiating the tricky issue of sharing seats with allies. “They are also experienced enough to handle pressure from INDIA partners,” said a Congress functionary close to party president Mallikarjun Kharge.
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The announcement assumes significance as some INDIA bloc partners had blamed the Congress for delaying the talks to discuss seat adjustment. Even as the INDIA bloc’s Mumbai meeting on September 1 had resolved to start seat sharing talks at the earliest, the Congress waited for the assembly election results in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Mizoram to be out in a bid to bargain better.
The INDIA alliance meeting is expected to consider setting deadlines to finalise seat arrangement talks, a critical part as the bloc begins preparations for the general elections next year.
