Among the 38 parties who attended the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance meeting in July, four to five of them have contacted the INDIA alliance and some of them might join the opposition alliance soon said Congress spokesperson Alok Sharma on Sunday.
The INDIA bloc is supposed to have their third meeting on September 1 in Mumbai and Alok Sharma said that some very important decisions will be taken that day.
Sharma while addressing at a press conference in Nagpur on Sunday said, "At least 4 to 5 political parties which were among the 38 parties that attended the NDA meeting addressed by PM Modi are in touch with the INDIA alliance. Some of them are expected to join the opposition bloc very soon while some before (2024) elections."
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Sharma avoided direct reply to a query on whether Congress will lead the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra. He reportedly said, "Considering the current situation in the country, it is not important who will lead but what is important is how we all together, as a cementing force, can remove this arrogant government."
Anyone can lead in various states and regions but the Congress will work as a cementing force in all states to unite all in the country. "The year 2024 belongs to INDIA," the national spokesperson said.
Further Sharma said, "I want to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he will order an inquiry by the CBI and the ED into recent CAG reports and the corruption that has come to the fore in NHAI (National Highway Authority of India), and health and insurance sectors."
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When asked about Rahul Gandhi contesting from Amethi for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Sharma said that the people of the constituency have a family-like relationship with the Gandhi family for a long time, he said, "People of Amethi always want someone from the Gandhi family to contest from there. Who will contest from Amethi, that decision will be taken by Rahul Gandhi and his family. There is no official decision on this aspect," he said.
In the 2019 elections, BJP's Smriti Irani defeated sitting MP Rahul Gandhi from the Amethi constituency. "It is certain that Irani would lose even if a block-level president of Congress contests from Amethi," Sharma added.
The meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was held in Delhi last month and was attended by at least 38 parties on the same day when the 26 parties in the INDIA alliance met and announced the name of their bloc.
