highlights
Mallikarjun Kharge was unanimously made the President of India Alliance.
The proposal to make Nitish Kumar the coordinator has not been passed yet.
New Delhi: On Saturday, a consensus was reached on the name of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge to be made the president of ‘India’, an alliance of opposition parties. At the same time, the name of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was proposed for the post of convenor, which the JD(U) leader has not yet accepted. Sources gave this information. Leaders of opposition parties met through video conference on Saturday and discussed various aspects of the alliance and preparations for the Lok Sabha elections to be held in April-May. Leaders of Trinamool Congress (TMC), Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and Samajwadi Party (SP) did not attend the meeting.
Consensus reached on making Mallikarjun Kharge the president
According to sources, a consensus was reached on making Kharge the president of ‘India’. He said that the leaders decided to make Janata Dal (United) President Nitish Kumar the convenor of the opposition alliance. JD(U) national general secretary Sanjay Kumar Jha told reporters outside the Bihar Chief Minister’s residence in Patna, ‘The Chief Minister (Kumar) has not yet given his approval to the proposal.’ He also said, ‘We will inform you after discussion within the party.’
Till now no formal announcement has been made regarding any post
However, till late evening, no formal announcement was made by the ‘India’ alliance regarding handing over the responsibility for both the posts. It is learned that the Congress President wants to include Nitish Kumar on the post of convenor before any formal announcement. JD(U) general secretary KC Tyagi later told PTI that Kumar had not given his approval for the post, saying he was not interested in it. He said Kumar stressed that issues related to seat sharing and campaign strategy should be resolved within the alliance and committees should be formed in this regard.
India alliance will announce its position for PM after the elections
Jha also said that the Chief Minister of Bihar is in favor of a Congress leader becoming the president of the alliance. Many people believe that the alliance president and convenor have the upper hand in the race for the Prime Ministerial candidate, but leaders of various parties say that the Prime Ministerial candidate of the ‘India’ alliance will be decided only after the elections. Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary D Raja, who attended the meeting, told PTI, ‘It was agreed upon on the name of Mallikarjun Kharge as the president of the India Alliance.’
DK Shivkumar announced
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said in a post on ‘X’ that Kharge has been named president of the ‘India’ alliance, which shows confidence in his leadership and vision. He said, ‘Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge is not just the pride of Karnataka, he is the pride of the country and is one of our most experienced leaders at this time. Today, he has been named the Chairman of the ‘India’ alliance, which shows the confidence in his leadership.
Nitish Kumar ahead in the race for the post of coordinator of India Alliance
Shivakumar said, ‘My best wishes to him and I know that he will lead the ‘India’ alliance with immense commitment and dedication, just as he has led the Congress Party. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President attended the meeting. Sharad Pawar told reporters that Nitish Kumar’s name was suggested for the post of convenor, but the JD(U) leader was of the view that a team of party chiefs should be formed and there was no need to appoint a convenor.
Pawar said- there is no dispute regarding the post of coordinator
Speaking to reporters in Junnar in Pune district after attending the meeting, Pawar said that there is no dispute among the members of ‘India’ alliance regarding the appointment of the convenor. Pawar said, ‘A suggestion was made (during the meeting) by the alliance members that Nitish Kumar be appointed its convenor, but he (Kumar) said that a team of party chiefs should be formed and a decision would be taken to appoint the convenor. There is no need.’
The series of meetings of leaders of India Alliance parties continues
Sources said that talks are going on between Congress chief Kharge and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee as well as SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. Sources said that the alliance leaders will soon meet in person at the end of the month to prepare further plans. In the evening, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also met Kharge at his residence, where Rahul Gandhi was also present. Sources said that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Raghav Chadha also participated in the talks related to seat sharing between the two parties.
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Tags: INDIA Alliance, Mallikarjun Kharge, Nitish kumar
FIRST PUBLISHED: January 13, 2024, 23:30 IST