Lok Sabha Polls 2024: Congress Forms 5-member Panel to Negotiate Seat-sharing with INDIA Allies

The Congress party on Tuesday formed a five-member committee to discuss the seat-sharing arrangements for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners.

Headed by veteran party leader Mohan Prakash, the National Alliance Committee (NAC) comprises five senior Congress leaders. The panel has two former chief ministers Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel and former Union ministers Salman Khurshid and Mukul Wasnik.

“In the run-up to the General Elections-2024, Hon’ble Congress president has constituted a National Alliance Committee, as follows, with immediate effect,” a communique issued by party general secretary KC Venugopal stated.

The committee’s prime purpose is to negotiate with the INDIA allies to adjust seats for the 2024 parliamentary polls.

The announcement of NAC formation came just minutes before the fourth meeting of the INDIA bloc leaders in New Delhi. Several Opposition alliance leaders, including Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Sonia Gandhi, Nitish Kumar and MK Stalin, arrived in New Delhi for the INDIA Alliance meeting.

Reportedly, the focus of the meeting is to fast-track the seat-sharing talks ahead of the 2024 elections.

Sources told News18 that Congress may be asked to accommodate allies, especially given the war of words between the Samajwadi Party and the Mallikarjun Kharge-led party during Madhya Pradesh polls.

Meanwhile, after a string of suspensions in Lok Sabha, the INDIA bloc has lost more than two-thirds of its strength for the duration of the Winter Session and only nine MPs of the principal opposition Congress, including former party presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, are left in the House.

On Tuesday, 49 opposition MPs were suspended for the remaining part of the session for disrupting proceedings, taking the total tally of suspended MPs in Lok Sabha to 95.