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- INDIA
After much buzz and anticipation, the I.N.D.I.A. alliance on Saturday held a crucial strategy meet as the Lok Sabha elections draw to a close.
The meeting was held at the Delhi residence of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
The official reason cited for the meeting was to devise a strategy to ensure smooth counting at state and district levels; sources indicated the focus was on keeping the flock together.
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav SP, his party colleague Ram Gopal Yadav, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Jharkhand Chief Minister, Champai Soren, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, Sitaram Yechury of CPIM and Dipankar Bhattacharya of CPI(ML). Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were also present in the meeting.
According to Congress party sources, the meeting is very important considering the results are out soon and there are expectations of a narrow margin. The party is expecting the NDA to get no more than 260-270 seats, which will leave it just short of the majority mark. Waving to the camera, the leaders all came together as a show of strength and solidarity one last time before the results are announced on June 4.
In a bold statement Kharge told the media that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc is confident of winning at least 295 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.
"One should not get confused by the narrative of the BJP. The I.N.D.I.A. bloc will win at least 295 seats. This is based on our assessment", he said.
The Congress chief said many issues were discussed in the meeting.
“A host of issues were discussed during the Opposition alliance's meeting that lasted for nearly two and a half hours. We have also discussed with all the parties about what strategy we should adopt on the day of counting of votes,” he added.
I.N.D.I.A. bloc parties have told their workers not to leave counting halls till all formalities are over on June 4, he said.
Kharge also alleged that the BJP was trying to break the Opposition alliance.
Top opposition leaders including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti did not attend the meeting. The DMK was represented by TR Baalu at the meeting.
In a statement, the Bengal Chief Minister said she was skipping it in view of the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections in the state and relief operations for Cyclone Remal that passed through the state earlier this week.
At the Congress party office in Delhi there was a busy buzz. A party source who was present at the office said the bloc is fairly confident this time.
On asking how much they are expecting, he confidently said 300. The exit polls, however, narrated a different story and since then the Opposition leaders have been warning their workers not to be intimidated by the figures, but to guard the counting centres till the very ned.
Things are different at Bharatiya Janata Party’s head offices though. A party source said there are some tensions, but the party is very confident it will win.
At the BJP party office, it was a little quieter although the BJP candidate Praveen Khandelwal who is fighting from Chandani Chowk said the party was ready for the counting day. He wanted huge screens to be set up at the constituency so people could watch the results.
AAP cadres are worried about the re-arrest of their leader Arvind Kejriwal who was allowed bail by the Supreme Court to campaign for the elections. On Friday, Kejriwal said he was “proud” of going to jail to “save the country from dictatorship” even as he asked the people of the national capital to “take care of my parents” just as he, as the “son” of each household in the city, sought to take care of them.
In a video address, Kejriwal, who was supposed to surrender at Tihar Jail on June 2, said the work being done in Delhi by his government will not stop. He said he will leave for jail from his residence at 3 pm on Sunday. He also said it was possible that he would be “tortured” in jail.
“We are all fighting dictatorship together. If something happens to me to save the country, if I even lose my life, do not be sad,” the Chief Minister said.
However, a Delhi court on Saturday reserved the order on Kejriwal’s bail plea to June 5, the day after the results of Lok Sabha elections. During the hearing at the Rouse Avenue Court, representatives of the ED asserted that the Supreme Court’s order prohibited him from filing an interim bail extension plea, allowing only a regular bail plea.
ASG Raju said that according to the SC order, bail is only applicable if the person is in custody, rendering an interim bail application invalid as the CM is not currently in custody. The ED also stated that Kejriwal has suppressed facts on the nature of the medical test he has to undergo, and that he had moved a similar petition in the Supreme Court.
Additionally, the ED objected, stating that a trial court lacks the inherent authority to release a person without complying with Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, a prerogative reserved for the High Court and Supreme Court. The apex court had granted Kejriwal a 21-day interim bail on May 10, which concludes today, to allow him to campaign during the Lok Sabha polls.
