INDIA bloc huddle: 15 parties to meet in Delhi on June 8

The Congress top leadership, including general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, has been reaching out to senior leaders from the Opposition camp to extend the invitation to parties for the meeting.

A total of 15 parties, including the TMC, Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena (UBT), Left parties are likely to be in attendance at the meeting, said sources.

The meeting will be crucial as questions have been raised regarding INDIA bloc’s future after the recent Assembly elections, which saw the BJP defeat the TMC for the first time in West Bengal, the Congress leaving its long-term ally DMK to join hands with the TVK in Tamil Nadu and Congress-led UDF defeating the LDF in Kerala.

Since the state elections, several regional parties have also taken note of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s statement that no other party will be able to stand against the BJP-RSS and only the Congress will be able to defeat them.

Equations within the INDIA bloc have also seen some changes after the TMC’s loss in West Bengal. Former Bengal CM and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee seems to have taken a conciliatory tone since the defeat. Sources said Banerjee is likely to attend the June 8 meeting.

Rahul Gandhi had sent out the first signals of rapprochement after the TMC’s defeat in the Assembly polls. “Assam and Bengal are clear cases of the election being stolen by the BJP with the support of the EC. We agree with Mamata ji. More than 100 seats were stolen in Bengal,” the LoP posted on X.

Mamata signaled a turn too, saying in her first post-result press conference that she had spoken with both Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, and that several INDIA bloc leaders had reached out to her in solidarity. After the attack on TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday, Mamata told mediapersons that Gandhi had personally reached out to her and offered assistance for Abhishek’s medical treatment.