NEW DELHI/KOLKATA: The opposition
INDIA bloc
has called a strategy meeting on
June 1
, the last day of voting for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The meeting will discuss the various post-poll scenarios and also pool in the estimates of regional players to assess the performance of the
opposition alliance
against BJP. The meeting has been called by
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge
.
Sources said the meeting would focus on counting day, with instructions to be given to counting agents and booth agents on the various aspects to be taken care of, and on how to handle the returning officers’ “objectionable overreach”.
Trinamool Congress
chief Mamata Banerjee announced that she would not attend the meeting, saying the state was still dealing with the aftermath of cyclone Remal and the final phase of polling was scheduled on June 1.
While the reasons given by Banerjee are seen as understandable, many view it as the West Bengal CM positioning herself for the post-poll scenario. She struck an independent line during the polls by refusing to tie up with Congress in Bengal and then issuing statements that she would only extend outside support if INDIA bloc forms the govt. While she later revised her statement to say that TMC would join any opposition govt, she created doubts in the minds of many about her future plans.
A senior TMC MP said it was “impractical” to expect the party to attend the meeting. “CM Banerjee is a voter in Bhowanipore. She will vote on June 1. Party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee is a candidate in Diamond Harbour, which goes to polls on June 1. The party’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien is also a Kolkata South voter. These three were part of INDIA meetings earlier. Party’s leader in Lok Sabha Sudip Bandyopadhyay is a Kolkata North candidate. We have conveyed this to Congress.”
