INDIA alliance will defeat BJP if it sticks together: Saurabh Bharadwaj

Sticking together is not going to be easy for the INDIA alliance, but if it manages to do so, the BJP will be defeated in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Sunday.

Attending a debate at an event organised by the Indian School of Democracy here, Bharadwaj claimed that many parties which are part of the BJP-led NDA, will also join the opposition's INDIA grouping in the days to come.

BJP leader Jaiveer Shergill, however, claimed that the constituents of the INDIA bloc are together because of their "hatred" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi even as they differ on several issues.

The opposition alliance would not last, he said.

In response, Bharadwaj said all parties in the INDIA grouping will have to make sacrifices. "It is not easy for the INDIA alliance to stick together. But if it stays together, Modi ji will not come back."

"Many parties which are with NDA out of fear, will join the INDIA (alliance) very soon," he said.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Manoj Jha said there is agreement between the constituents of the opposition alliance on fundamental issues even as there are several differences.

"There are differences, that's why we are different parties. Otherwise, we would have become one party... But we agree on fundamental issues," Jha said.

He sought to corner the government over the issue of simultaneous polls and backed Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's decision not to join to Ram Nath Kovind-led committee to examine and make recommendations on the issue of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities and panchayats.

"We had one nation one election till 1967. What changed after that? Regional parties came in and there were fragmentations all over. Can you say today that we have one nation one election and tomorrow assemblies won't be dissolved or there won't be fractured mandate," he posed.

"The government has come up with a facade to cover up their failure on multiple fronts. Look at the committee, they've already prepared the report and want certain signatures on it," he added.