Panels, social media plan on INDIA agenda

The Mumbai meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) will set up the grouping's 11-member coordination committee, and is likely to discuss the broader approach for state-specific seat-sharing arrangements, which will eventually be handled at the state level, two leaders involved in the preparatory consultations said on Saturday.

- Saubhadra Chatterji

The meeting to be held on August 31 and September 1 may also decide on a formula to create at least five other panels to handle specific tasks of the alliance in the run-up to the 2024 general elections, a third Opposition leader aware of the matter said.

A draft joint statement, to be issued after the Mumbai meeting, is under preparation, the leaders indicated.

They said that talks have also started on how the various parties in the INDIA alliance can share each other's social media content for greater impact in the digital space.

The INDIA alliance held its first meeting in Patna on June 23, and second meeting in Bengaluru on July 17 and 18. After the Mumbai meeting, an Opposition leader said that at least two more meetings, possibly in Kolkata and Chennai, will be held in the coming weeks.