• Caste census, seat-sharing discussed in Opposition bloc INDIA's first coordination committee meeting, reports ndtv.com

The coordination committee of the opposition bloc INDIA held its first meeting at the residence of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar here on Wednesday.

Eleven leaders of the 14-member panel of the Opposition were present in the meeting which is being held under the shadow of a row over DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's remark on the Sanatan Dharma.

They are likely to discuss the seat-sharing formulae for different states and a broad campaign strategy for the alliance.

The leaders present at the meeting are: NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Congress' K C Venugopal, CPI's D Raja, SP's Jawed Ali Khan, DMK's T R Baalu, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, AAP MP Raghav Chadha, JD(U)'s Sanjay Jha, NC leader Omar Abdullah, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut was also present at the meeting.

Three members of the panel including JMM leader Hemant Soren, TMC's Abhishek Banerjee could not attend the meeting for different reasons.

Sources said that leaders of several opposition parties have sought an early seat-sharing formula to be worked out to ensure that a joint opposition candidate is put up against BJP candidates in Lok Sabha seats.

However, several leaders said that the parties have to "shed their egos" and "vested interests" in arriving at such a formula.

While no decision has been taken on the criteria, it is likely to be based on the performance of parties on a particular seat in recent polls.

A source aware of the details said the issue of seat-sharing will be discussed even though it may not be finalised during this meeting.

The leaders will also lay a broad outlay of the election campaign for taking on the BJP, the sources said.

Abhishek Banerjee of TMC, who was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate to appear before it on the same day, did not attend the meeting.

The CPI-M has not yet nominated any member to the committee. A decision on who will represent CPI-M will be taken at its Polit Bureau meeting scheduled on September 16-17.

At the first meeting of the Opposition bloc in Patna in June, it was decided that the strongest candidate from each seat would be picked up for the Lok Sabha polls.

The resolution issued on September 1, after the third meeting of the bloc in Mimbai, said the parties would contest polls together "as far as possible", and that seat sharing in arrangements in different states would be "initiated immediately" and concluded "at the earliest".

According to opposition leaders while states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Bihar are sorted, they face challenging negotiations for Delhi, Punjab and West Bengal. The meeting will also focus on finalising campaigns and rallies to be held in coming days.

Leaders will also look at the decisions taken in meetings of the different sub-groups like the campaign committee, working group on media, research and social media sub-groups.

Over two dozen opposition parties have formed the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to take on the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance unitedly in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

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