Srinagar: A day after expressing doubt over the future of the INDIA alliance, National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah Tuesday said that BJP’s victory in three state elections was not the defeat of the alliance, “but to some extent failure of the Congress.”
“The setback (in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh) should be seen as a setback for the Congress at an individual level, not for the I.N.D.I.A alliance,” he told reporters after paying tributes to his grandfather and founder of the NC Sheikh Abdullah near his Mausoleum in Hazratbal here.
On Monday, Omar, a former chief minister of J&K, said, “Judging the results of the I.N.D.I.A alliance in the state elections, if the situation is like this in the future, we can’t win.”
However, he clarified that the I.N.D.I.A alliance itself did not face defeat in these elections. Instead, he suggested that certain statements had surfaced, warranting discussion and resolution. “The state elections were contested independently by different political parties rather than as a united front,” the NC leader said.
The leaders of the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc are scheduled to meet at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's residence in Delhi on December 6 to chalk out a strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
As per the media reports, the leaders are likely to discuss and finalise their plan to unitedly take on the BJP ahead of the Parliament elections.
Omar also said that the NC, which is part of the alliance, had indeed received an invitation for the meeting. However, he declined to comment on whether Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had received a similar intimation.
“The focus remains on addressing internal party matters and strengthening the alliance moving forward,” he added.
Published 05 December 2023, 09:40 IST