INDIA bloc meetings only decide further dates, says former West Bengal BJP state President Dilip Ghosh

Kolkata: West Bengal BJP leadership expressed doubts about the INDIA alliance which have allegedly failed to take any decisive move yet and it has been created to mislead people, former BJP state President Dilip Ghosh said on Tuesday.

“INDIA Bloc meetings only decide further dates. Only dates after dates are fixed (Tarikh pe Tarikh). This has been a trend for a long time. The opposition parties come together against the ruling parties and fight against them. When Congress was in power, opposition parties came together and the same is happening before any Lok Sabha elections,” Ghosh said. “People are watching the drama and they know what to do in the elections and have faith on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

Notably, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday said that no meeting has been held for the appointment of a convener or chairperson of the Opposition INDIA alliance.


“There is an attempt to keep their identities intact. Last time, it was Mamata Banerjee, who had ambition to become the Prime Minister, took the initiative. This time it was Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who took the initiative. After taking the initiative, Nitish Babu has disappeared,” Ghosh, who is part of the BJP’s core election team, told ET.

"Similar Alliance was planned last time with Mamata Banerjee leading last time,” Ghosh said, when asked about the INDIA bloc and the seat sharing deal which was scheduled before December 31 but yet to get worked out.

With Lok Sabha polls approaching, rifts among the Opposition's INDIA bloc seem to become evident with various alliance partners refusing to accept seat-sharing arrangements. One such example is West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who intends to go alone in Bengal, keeping the alliance intact in the country.

Meanwhile, recently, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut asserted the party's demand of contesting 23 seats for the Lok Sabha polls 2024 including in Dadra and Nagar Haveli.