Sonia Gandhi urges opposition parties to “plan systematically” for the 2024 national election

Sonia Gandhi today urged opposition parties to “plan systematically” for the 2024 national election and “rise above compulsions” to work unitedly, adding that there was no other option. “We all have our compulsions, but clearly, a time has come when the interests of our nation demand that we rise above them,” the Congress president said at a 19-party meet.

The 2024 polls is “the ultimate goal”, the Congress president said, adding: “This is a challenge, but together we can and must rise to it because there is simply no alternative to working cohesively together.”

She urged opposition parties to begin to plan “with the single-minded objective of giving to our country a government that believes in the values of the Freedom Movement and in the principles and provisions of our Constitution.”

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav and Left leader Sitaram Yechury were among those who joined the virtual meet.

Sonia Gandhi’s initiative to host the interaction is seen to signal the Congress’s readiness to corral the opposition ahead of polls.

The Congress party “will not be found wanting,” said Sonia Gandhi, perhaps acknowledging skepticism about her party’s ability to inspire confidence as the lead player in any opposition plan to fight the BJP.

“The 75th anniversary of India’s Independence is indeed the most appropriate occasion for us to reaffirm our individual and collective resolve. Let me say for its part, the Indian National Congress will not be found wanting,” she said.

Today’s meeting takes off from recent opposition huddles and the unprecedented display of unity in the monsoon session, which saw opposition parties united taking on the government over issues like the Pegasus snooping scandal, rising fuel prices and the farmers’ agitation over three central laws.

Sonia Gandhi said the session was marked by the “determined unity” that all Opposition parties demonstrated for over 20 days in both houses of parliament. “We functioned in a coordinated manner with daily discussions among our floor leaders… I am confident that this unity will be sustained in future sessions of Parliament as well. But the larger political battle has to be fought outside it,” she said, referring to the next general election.