NEW DELHI: Even as the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Friday staked claim to form the new government, the Opposition INDIA bloc said that it will continue to hold parleys to build a stable formation to counter the BJP.
While TMC MPs Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien held talks with Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav in New Delhi on Thursday, SP leaders told The New Indian Express that Yadav will be meeting more leaders in the coming days.
Speaking to TNIE, SP spokesperson Ghanshyam Tiwari said that Yadav shares a good rapport with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu.
Both Naidu and Kumar have extended support to the BJP, which fell short of the majority mark of 272 seats to form the government.
"The INDIA bloc believes that the NDA will not survive long as BJP has proven deadly for regional parties," he stressed.
When asked if Akhilesh has been tasked to reach out to the leaders, Tiwari said, “I will not be surprised if Akhilesh has already spoken to Nitish Kumar or Naidu as he has a long association with both leaders. There was a meeting between Naidu and DMK leader Stalin too. There will be more interactions that are not in the public eye,” he said.
The SP chief would be meeting more leaders as he is camped in the capital now.
“TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav held talks yesterday. We shouldn’t expect spontaneous results out of the meeting. We will see many things happening. There will be fallouts within the BJP too. After the UP results, knives have come out in the BJP,” he said.
“It is a good thing that different types of meetings are happening. Whether we are in opposition or reach a stage to form the government, the greater the interaction, the stronger and stable we are together. If we rush into government formation, it will be perceived as opportunistic,” said Tiwari, adding that there has to be sufficient groundwork to build a stable and trusted formation. Early this week, the INDIA bloc said that it would take appropriate action at the appropriate time
Congress is also part of the ongoing meetings, and there are no separate camps in the bloc, asserted the SP leader.
Meanwhile speaking to TNIE, Congress MP Manickam Tagore said that all partners of the INDIA alliance are on the same page and the interaction of the members is an ongoing process.
“All members are on the same page on how to fight against the BJP. Conversation between the members is a continuing process. All the decisions were taken after consensus by INDIA bloc members,” said Tagore.
The TMC, which has been holding separate meetings with alliance partners, also claimed that they are in touch with three BJP MPs from West Bengal. However, the claim has been denied by the BJP.
After the meetings with alliance partners, TMC leader Derek O'Brien said that the Narendra Modi government has been rejected by the people and this is just the beginning.
