Seat sharing for Lok Sabha polls
Sir,
Nearly two weeks have passed since the holding of the Bengaluru conclave of the opposition parties which gave birth to the new front INDIA consisting of 26 anti-BJP parties. In the following days since July 18, the focus of both media and the BJP leaders has been on the differing nature of the constituents and how difficult itis to make a success of the seat sharing between the partners to defeat unitedly the BJP and the expanded NDA in the coming Lok Sabha polls scheduled in 2024.
Apparently, it may seem that it is an extremely difficult task to bring these parties into agreeing to an acceptable seat sharing formula but if one analyses the political situation from state to state, it will be clear that out of the 543 sets, the real problem of seat sharing will be limited to around 150 seats. In around 400 seats, the usual pattern is already in place and it will require a little fine tuning to decide on the arrangement.
Then next conclave of INDIA is scheduled in Mumbai next month. By then, the monsoon session of the Parliament will be over and the INDIA constituents have proved their cohesion in Parliament session in focusing on the burning issues of the day. From the beginning of the session on July 20, the INDIA constituents have acted jointly in highlighting the plight of Manipur people. These joint actions will have to be taken forward in the coming days. The Mumbai meeting should work in a businesslike manner. The format for going ahead with discussions on seat sharing formula should get priority. There should not be any further delay as Prime Minister is known for giving surprises to people. He can opt for Lok Sabha elections by yearend or in January. INDIA has to be fully prepared for any eventuality.
Nitya Chakraborty