INDIA bloc PM candidate will be decided after 2024 polls: Mamata Banerjee

New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that the Prime Minister candidate of the opposition alliance - INDIA bloc will be decided after 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

"After elections, everybody will decide," the Trinamool Congress leader told reporters here in the national capital, a day ahead of the bloc's scheduled meeting.

Queried by reporters on what should be the role of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the general elections, Mamata Banerjee said she cannot speak about alliance partners.

"I cannot say anything about another political party," she noted.

However, she said she was ready for joint campaigning and she was willing to rally for any India bloc parties.
In her press conference, she also delved into the recent Parliament security breach incident and attacked the central government on the overall security of the country.

"If they cannot protect the new Parliament, how will they protect the country? It's a deep question," Mamata Banerjee said.

She demanded an "impartial investigation" into the unfortunate incident.

The next meeting of the leaders of the INDIA bloc will be held on December 19 in the national capital.
Taking to 'X', Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "The 4th meeting of the leaders of INDIA parties will be held on Tuesday, December 19th, 2023, in New Delhi at 3 p.m."

Seat sharing for the Lok Sabha polls, which are just four months away, is likely to be at the top of the agenda for the next INDIA bloc meeting and will be crucial for Congress, particularly as the party lost Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, the Hindi heartland states.

The first meeting of the joint opposition convened in Patna on June 23 and the second meeting was held in Bengaluru on July 17-18. The third meeting happened in Mumbai on August 31-September 1.

INDIA or 'Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance' is a group of opposition parties, including the Congress. The parties have come together to take on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is led by PM Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and prevent it from winning a third straight term at the Centre in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

In the Mumbai meeting, the opposition parties adopted resolutions to collectively contest the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections while announcing that seat-sharing arrangements would be finalized as soon as possible through a spirit of give-and-take.

The theme chosen by the INDIA bloc for the elections is "Judega Bharat, Jeetega India" (India will unite, India will win) to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government. (ANI)