Seat-sharing talks in INDIA bloc still hanging after more than 50 days

livemint.com:

Lok Sabha elections but the talks on seat sharing formula still hanging in the air. This year more than dozens of Indian opposition parties formed an alliance called "INDIA" to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in parliamentary elections next year. The INDIA bloc is an alliance of 28 political parties.

Also read: ‘Mungeri Lal Ke Haseen Sapne': BJP jibes SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav over ‘future PM' poster The alliance passed a resolution that said “Seat-sharing arrangements in different states will be initiated immediately and concluded at the earliest in a collaborative spirit of give-and-take". However, it's been 53 days there have been no updates on it. Two opposition parties have put the onus on the Congress party for the delay.

Also read: INDIA bloc jolted as ‘seat-sharing saga' unfolds: Too big a mountain to climb? Yesterday a senior Congress leader admitted that they have not initiated talks on the sharing formula. According to a report by the Hindustan Times, the grand-old party is waiting for the results of the upcoming assembly elections. The party is anticipating a surge in its seats so that it can have better bargaining power for the 2024 General elections.

HT quoted a leader who said, "If we win 3 or 4 of the 5 states, we will have better elbow room to negotiate seats with our allies. But if we get one or two states, it will spell trouble for us in the seat negotiations". Assembly elections are scheduled in five states next month--Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram.