Addressing the Opposition leaders who converged at his residence, Kharge said all INDIA alliance partners fought well, unitedly and resolutely
NEW DELHI — The INDIA bloc would welcome all parties that share a fundamental commitment to the values enshrined in the Preamble of Constitution, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Wednesday at the first meeting of the Opposition grouping after its impressive gains in Lok Sabha polls.
Addressing the Opposition leaders who converged at his residence, Kharge said all INDIA alliance partners fought well, unitedly and resolutely, PTI reported.
“The mandate is decisively against Mr Modi, against him and the substance and style of his politics. It is a huge political loss for him personally apart from being a clear moral defeat as well. However, he is determined to subvert the will of the people,” he said.
“The INDIA alliance welcomes all parties which share its fundamental commitment to the values enshrined in the Preamble to our Constitution and to its many provisions for economic, social and political justice,” the Congress chief said in his opening remarks.
Thanking the INDIA bloc partners, he said, “I welcome all INDIA alliance partners. We fought well, fought unitedly, fought resolutely.”
“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 while reading out a statement adopted by all the alliance constituents after the deliberations at his residence.
He said the decision has been taken by all constituents of the INDIA bloc in one voice.
The Congress president had convened the meeting to discuss the political situation and the election results, explore any possibility of government formation and whether to reach out to their old partners Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu.
He also said that the Opposition would continue to work together and would definitely stand by the promises made to the people and keep them.
“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.
“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.
While the BJP won 240 seats and the Congress emerged as the second largest party with 99 seats, the NDA has the majority number with 293 seats and is holding a parallel meeting on government formation. The opposition alliance has 234 seats.
While the BJP on its own fell short of a majority, it may, as things stand, form the government on the back of its allies. With support from Naidu’s TDP and Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), which won 16 and 12 seats in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, respectively, and other alliance partners, the NDA has crossed the halfway mark.
The TDP and JDU have already dismissed suggestions of defecting to the opposition alliance and have clearly stated that they will remain with the NDA. Sources, however, said the Congress and some other party leaders are already trying to woo them and have been in touch.
