The Congress is planning to enter into formal seat sharing talks with its INDIA alliance partners for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in early January, with its five-member national alliance committee kickstarting the process by holding discussions with party's state units to finalise stand party should take in the negotiations with the allies.
The party's five-member alliance committee, which comprises two former chief ministers--Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel--former union minister Salman Khurshid, senior leader Mohan Prakash, and party veteran Mukul Wasnik as convenor, is holding discussions today and tomorrow with the state Congress presidents and general secretaries or AICC in-charges of the states in which it can enter into alliances with INDIA constituents. The states include Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Punjab and Delhi.
According to Congress sources, the committee will submit its recommendations to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in early January, and immediately thereafter, talks with INDIA alliance partners on sharing seats are expected to begin.
As per the sources, the committee in its report will present a broad view on what should be the party's stand in the negotiations to be held with alliance partners. They said that in fact, talks have already begun with alliance partners in states such as Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Bihar. It is possible that a senior group of leaders will be empowered by the Congress President to talk to the allies.
With regard to reservations of state units about forming alliances in states like Delhi, Punjab or West Bengal, sources insist that since this is an alliance for the Lok Sabha elections, decisions will be taken from a national perspective. They said that while it was natural for the state units to have a certain view depending on the local factors, state-level issues tend to take a back seat in an alliance that is being formed at the national level.
