Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge stated on Wednesday that the INDIA bloc will take necessary actions at the right time to fulfill the people's wish to end BJP rule. This announcement came after the opposition alliance's first meeting following the Lok Sabha election results.
Speaking to the media after a nearly two-hour session, which indicated that the alliance was keeping its options open and not yet claiming the formation of a government, Kharge emphasized the alliance's commitment to fighting against the "fascist rule" of Narendra Modi's BJP. He also expressed gratitude to the public for their strong support of the INDIA bloc.
"We will take appropriate steps at the appropriate time to realise people's desire not to be ruled by the BJP's government," Kharge said, reading from a statement endorsed by all alliance members after discussions at his residence.
"The constituents of the INDIA bloc thank the people of India for their overwhelming support. The people's mandate has been a befitting reply to the BJP and their politics of hate, corruption and deprivation," Kharge said.
The meeting was called by him to assess the political situation, examine the poll outcome, discuss possibilities of government formation and making outreach to former allies Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu..
Kharge also assured that the opposition would uphold their commitments to the public and maintain unity. "The constituents of the INDIA bloc thank the people of India for their overwhelming support. The people's mandate has been a befitting reply to the BJP and their politics of hate, corruption and deprivation," Kharge said.
He further highlighted that the mandate defends the Indian Constitution and opposes issues like price rise, unemployment, crony capitalism, and threats to democracy.
"This is a mandate in defence of the Constitution of India, and against price rise, unemployment and crony capitalism and also to save democracy," Kharge added while announcing the decision of the alliance partners.
In the election results, the BJP secured 240 seats while the Congress became the second-largest party with 99 seats. The NDA, with a total of 293 seats, has the majority and is holding a parallel meeting for government formation. The opposition alliance has 234 seats.
Despite the BJP falling short of an outright majority, it is positioned to form the government with the support of its allies. With backing from Naidu's TDP and Nitish Kumar's JD(U), which won 16 and 12 seats in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, respectively, the NDA has surpassed the majority mark.
Both the TDP and JD(U) have rejected the idea of joining the opposition alliance, affirming their allegiance to the NDA. Nonetheless, sources indicate that Congress and other party leaders are attempting to persuade them and have initiated contact.
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