"High command will decide on seat-sharing" says Congress' Alamgir Alam as party intensifies alliance efforts

Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], January 5 : Amid the tussle over the seat-sharing among parties of the newly established INDIA alliance, Jharkhand Minister and Congress party leader Alamgir Alam on Friday said that the "high command" will decide on the seat-sharing among the parties.
"We will be contesting the elections with the INDIA alliance. All the feedback has been given to our High Command. I don't think there will be any issue with seat sharing...The High Command will decide who will contest from which seat according to the potential of the candidate," Alam said while speaking to ANI.
Earlier on Thursday, former Rajasthan Chief Minister and member of the Congress's alliance committee Ashok Gehlot ahead of a major party meeting spoke on seat-sharing for the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
"The agenda was clear when Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge constituted our committee for the alliance. The committee decided on how the alliance must proceed and what our party leaders think."
"The first phase was completed in which discussions with our state leaders were held on what they think about Congress-ruled states", said Ashok Gehlot.
"At what level do we have to interact with leaders of other parties? How many seats do we have to give and take? Today, there will be a meeting with Rahul Gandhi and Congress chief Kharge. There will be a discussion on in which direction we have to proceed. Kharge ji will decide on whom to give responsibility and if to give it to some AICC workers officially", Ashok Gehlot added further.
"He will also decide on who will communicate, with which party and at what level", Ashok Gehlot revealed.
However even as the Alliance committee works out details of prospective alliance within the INDIA bloc there appears to be trouble on the horizon in several states. In West Bengal, senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chaudhry questioned Mamata Banerjee after it was reported that the Trinamool Congress would give only two seats to the Congress in a potential Lok Sabha alliance.
"We won two seats on our own, we are not begging for these seats. On one hand, Mamata Banerjee says that the INDIA bloc will contest together and on the other hand there are such statements" Adhir Ranjan Chaudhry said.
In Punjab, Congress has been vehemently opposed to the AAP which is the ruling party in the state. State Congress President Amarinder Raja Warring said that the Congress high command has asked the state unit to prepare itself to contest all 13 seats in Punjab in the 2024 Lok Sabha Alliance, virtually ruling out an alliance with the AAP.
"AICC has told us to compete on all 13 seats...In the meeting today there was no discussion about Punjab on seat sharing or alliance. We have prepared to compete for all 13 seats. We will discuss the candidates and strategy to contest elections in the coming 3-4 months" Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said.
India's political landscape is undergoing a significant transition as the 2024 Lok Sabha elections draw near. INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) consortium is gearing up to challenge the established National Democratic Alliance. The bloc is struggling to resolve key challenges including finalising seat-sharing arrangements most importantly deciding on a PM face while the BJP has started executing strategies it laid off in 2023 to secure victory in General elections.