INDIA bloc leaders to meet at Mallikarjun Kharge's residence to discuss govt formation

INDIA bloc leaders to meet at Mallikarjun Kharge's residence to discuss govt formation

INDIA bloc leaders will meet at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence Wednesday evening to decide on the strategy to form the government and whether to reach out to former allies Nitish Kumar and N Chandrababu Naidu.

"The INDIA Janbandhan leaders will be meeting today at 6 PM at 10, Rajaji Marg to discuss the election results and strategy thereafter," Kharge said in a post on X.

The opposition leaders will deliberate on the Lok Sabha poll results and whether to bring on board the Janata Dal (United) and Telugu Desam Party to cobble up a government.

Opposition leaders, including Sharad Pawar, M K Stalin, Champai Soren, Uddhav Thackeray, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, and D Raja are likely to attend the meeting, along with Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

The TMC will be represented by Abhishek Banerjee, who would be coming from Kolkata.

While the BJP on its own fell short of a majority, it may, as things stand, form the government on the back of its allies.

With support from Naidu's TDP and Nitish Kumar's JD(U), which won 16 and 12 seats in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, respectively, and other alliance partners, the NDA crossed the halfway mark.

The TDP and JDU have already dismissed suggestions of defecting to the opposition alliance and have clearly stated that they will remain with the NDA.

Sources, however, said the Congress and some other party leaders are already trying to woo them.

Rahul Gandhi had earlier asserted that the Congress will not take any decision on government formation without holding consultations with its alliance partners.

He also refrained from commenting on whether the alliance will reach out to TDP and JD(U).