I.N.D.I.A alliance meeting, which was scheduled to be held tomorrow (December 6), has been postponed because of the non-availability of several key leaders, said sources.
The development came after reports that some key members of the bloc, including Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her counterpart Nitish Kumar were unlikely to attend the crucial meeting to discuss the future course of action to fight the Bharatiya Janata Party in upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024.
Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said his party chief has no plan to attend the meeting. When asked if the decision was taken after the declaration of assembly poll results in four states, the spokesperson said there was no information about the meeting earlier.
"The Samajwadi party national president has no plans to attend the meeting of the INDIA bloc tomorrow. Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav or any other leader authorised by the national president will go for the meeting," Chaudhary said.
Mamata Banerjee on Dec 6 meeting
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she won't be able to attend the upcoming opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting scheduled in Delhi on December 6, citing prior engagements in North Bengal.
Banerjee said she was unaware of the meeting date and indicated that had she been informed in advance, "she would have rescheduled her itinerary."
"I will be visiting North Bengal from December 6- December 11. I was not aware of the meeting date on December 6. Had I known about the meeting date beforehand, then I could have rescheduled my visit," Banerjee told reporters outside Raj Bhawan.
Nitish Kumar was not keen to attend meeting
According to the media report, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, who was instrumental in weaving the bloc, was also not very keen to attend the December 6 meeting. Kumar, a few days ago, blamed Congress for not giving priority to the newly formed alliance as the grand old party was busy in state assembly elections.
Earlier, Leaders of the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc were set to meet at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi on December 6.
After the announcement of the results of the recent assembly elections in five states, in which Congress received landslide defeats losing - Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan to rival BJP, now the grand old party shifted its focus to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections but other members of the bloc are reportedly unhappy with the slow progress of the bloc.
