Reiterating that the Opposition’s I.N.D.I.A bloc is meant for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and not for Assembly polls in any state, Congress on Friday (February 2) asserted that the grouping of 27 parties still exists and will contest the upcoming polls together. The alliance, which earlier consisted of 28 parties, was left with 27 after Nitish Kumar-led JDU joined the BJP-led NDA last month. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed that Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, being led by Rahul Gandhi, will prove to be very beneficial for the party in the general elections, though it is a political programme and not an election campaign.
"INDIA alliance is for the general elections and not for assembly polls of West Bengal or Maharashtra or any other state," he said.
Alliance only in Maharashtra
The Congress leader said that though in Maharashtra, the Assembly elections will be contested together by Congress, NCP, and Shiv Sena UBT, in other state elections there will be no alliance of I.N.D.I.A bloc parties.
"For Lok Sabha, the INDIA alliance of 27 parties is there and will fight together," he said, addressing a press conference at Rampurhat in West Bengal's Birbhum district.
Jairam said that Congress is the only party in the country which has “never supported the BJP, either directly or indirectly”.
The Opposition’s alliance has been made aiming to defeat the ideology of RSS and BJP, he stressed.
Constitution under threat: Jairam
He claimed that the country’s Constitution and democracy are under threat and cited the necessity to defeat the BJP in order to save them.
"This is a very important yatra as new energy and strength have been infused in the Congress organisation. We firmly believe that this Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will be very beneficial in the context of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections," he said.
He added that Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly said that this Yatra is being held from a political perspective and not with an eye on the elections.
“We look at it as a battle of ideologies," he said, claiming that the Yatra, which started from ethnic strife-torn Manipur and is scheduled to end in Maharashtra on March 20 after traversing several states, was receiving huge response from people of all walks of life.
(With PTI inputs)
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