"Congress always tries to get everyone on board: Sibal urges INDIA bloc to discuss election strategy"

Kapil Sibal stresses the need for INDIA bloc parties to come together and finalise their election strategy, addressing confusion and potential disagreements over alliances and seat-sharing.

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Tuesday emphasised the importance of the INDIA bloc parties coming together to discuss their strategy for upcoming elections, in order to resolve any confusion. Sibal, who was addressing a press conference, reiterated that the Congress Party has always sought consensus and aims to bring everyone on board. However, he also pointed out the need for clarity on how the alliance will function moving forward.

Sibal raised concerns over the tactics employed by certain members of the INDIA bloc, particularly the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which, according to him, had fielded candidates against the Congress in states such as Haryana, Goa, and Gujarat. He suggested that questions should have been raised when AAP's Arvind Kejriwal made such decisions. "The Congress always tries to get everyone on board with a consensus for moving forward. Sometimes problems arise, as was evident in Bihar, where the Congress did not perform to expectations. The RJD blamed Congress for not being able to form the government," Sibal said.

The former Congress leader highlighted the need for the alliance to decide how they will approach elections in the future, as he noted the advantage the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has with its unified command. In contrast, Sibal pointed out that the Congress had found success in alliances with parties such as the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and the DMK in Tamil Nadu, suggesting that cooperation among opposition parties can help build a stronger challenge to the BJP.

Sibal also referred to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar's comment that the INDIA bloc is a national alliance, but clarified that there appears to be confusion over the alliance's direction. "This needs to be sorted out," he said, stressing the importance of addressing whether the alliance partners will fight elections together or separately in individual states. Sibal mentioned that Pawar had indicated that the INDIA bloc would come together for the general elections, but discussions on seat-sharing were still necessary.

In response to remarks made by Congress leader Tariq Anwar, who suggested that the party must clarify its stance on coalition politics or going solo, Sibal remarked that Anwar should have expressed such views earlier. He reminded Anwar of the time when Kejriwal's candidates contested against the Congress in multiple states, saying, "Tariq bhai did not say anything at that time."

(With inputs from PTI) 

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