Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress president, has been appointed chairperson of the opposition INDIA bloc, and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar named convener after alliance party negotiations. However, sources revealed that the JDU leader has rejected the offer citing that someone from Congress party should rather take the responsibility.
The decision was made during a virtual meeting of top INDIA bloc leaders on Saturday.
Why Nitish Kumar rejected the offer? 5 things to know
- “There was no dispute among the INDIA bloc members over appointing its convenor, but Nitish Kumar suggested there was no need to project any face for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls,” NCP president Sharad Pawar said on Saturday putting an end to all controversies around the development.
- PTI had reported earlier that the JD(U) wanted Nitish Kumar as the convener but was being opposed by the TMC. Meanwhile, Kumar said, as reported by Indian Express, he would only accept the role if all parties were in agreement.
- Rejecting the reports, Pawar said, “There was a suggestion made by the bloc members (during the meeting) that Nitish Kumar be appointed as its convenor, but the latter said that a team of party chiefs should be formed and that there is no need to appoint a convenor.”
- “There is no need to project one face to seek votes. We will select the leader after the elections and we are confident of providing an alternative. In 1977, Morarji Desai was not projected as the prime ministerial face by the opposition.”
- The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president said it was a positive sign that several parties were coming together to ally.
- On what was discussed during the meeting, Pawar said, the INDIA bloc meeting discussed programmes, policies to be taken up. It was decided that a committee would be formed that will decide on holding joint rallies of the allies all over the country
- However, “Candidates (for the Lok Sabha elections) were not discussed…We will discuss seat-sharing. For the Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, seat-sharing was discussed and we will announce once it is finalised,” he said.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK leader MK Stalin and party leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi attended the meeting via video conferencing in Chennai. Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was absent as she was attending a pre-decided state program.
As the Lok Sabha elections draw near, India’s political landscape is undergoing a significant reshuffling. The emerging INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) consortium is gearing up to challenge the established National Democratic Alliance, setting the stage for an electoral showdown.
Earlier in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the NDA won 353 seats, the UPA stood at 91, and Others won 98. The voting was staggered in seven phases between April 11 and May 19, in which around 67 per cent of the nearly 900 million eligible people exercised their franchise to elect 542 members of the Lok Sabha.
(With agency inputs)
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Published: 13 Jan 2024, 05:30 PM IST