New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS): Even as the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc on Tuesday held the fourth meeting to devise a strategy to take on the BJP-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Trinamool Congress and many INDIA parties have set a December 31 deadline for finalising the seat-sharing arrangement.

According to sources, the seat sharing talks will begin from Wednesday itself in many states and if the matter becomes complicated the issue would come to Delhi for final deliberations.

This was the fourth meeting of the INDIA bloc, which was attended by Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Farooq Abdullah, Nitish Kumar, Rajiv Ranjan, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Uddhav Thackeray, Sanjay Raut, MK Stalin, Sharad Pawar, Akhilesh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav.

The source also said that eight to ten joint public meetings will be planned from January onwards. During the meeting, every leader got the opportunity to share their views and suggestions.

The first meeting of the INDIA bloc took place in Patna on June 23 while the second meeting took place in Bengaluru on July 17 and 18.

The third meeting of the alliance was held in Mumbai on August 31 and September 1 and the 14-member coordination committee and 19-member election strategy committee were announced.

As many as 28 parties have come together to take on the BJP at the Centre in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.