INDIA to resolve seat-sharing woes, victory assured in LS polls: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed confidence on Tuesday that the seat-sharing issues among the INDIA bloc partners will be resolved and claimed that the coalition will defeat the BJP in this year's Lok Sabha polls.

He also said there is mutual respect and affection between the leaders of the INDIA bloc, which he asserted is "an ideological formation" that is in opposition to the idea of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Addressing a press conference here in Nagaland during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi said the status of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is "very good".

"We are in conversation with our partners. The issue of seat sharing is being taken up. Those discussions are ongoing and I think they are going quite well. Let us see where those discussions end.

"Broadly, a lot of those discussions are quite simple. They are not complex discussions and are relatively easy discussions to have. So I am quite confident that they will be resolved," he said.

Asked about reports that Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar was upset after the last meeting of the INDIA bloc, Gandhi said the media "overplays" these things and does not show the mood and brotherhood during the coalition's meetings.

"By raising one issue, you (media) make that the main issue. There is mutual respect and affection between the leaders of the INDIA formation," the former Congress president said.

The INDIA bloc is an ideological formation that is placing itself in opposition to the idea of the BJP-RSS, he added.

"I am very confident that the small problems of the INDIA bloc will be resolved and we will together fight the BJP in the election and defeat it," Gandhi asserted.

His remarks came at a time when the constituents of the INDIA bloc are engaged in talks over seat sharing for the Lok Sabha polls, with Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal proving to be the sticking points among the partners.

Gandhi expressed confidence that the opposition alliance will win the Lok Sabha polls likely to be held in April-May.

"I see the INDIA bloc placed very well in taking on the BJP in 2024," he said.

The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Gandhi reached Nagaland on Monday evening after it began in Thoubal in Manipur on January 14.

The yatra will pass through 100 Lok Sabha constituencies in 15 states, traversing 6,713 km, mostly in buses but also on foot, and culminate in Mumbai on March 20 or 21.