Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge emerged as the consensus choice to be the chairperson of the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) at a virtual meeting of Opposition leaders on Saturday.
Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar’s name was suggested as the convener of the group by everyone present but Mr. Kumar neither immediately accepted nor rejected the proposal.
A final call will be taken after consulting those leaders who skipped Saturday’s meeting, including Trinamool Congress (TMC) president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Rahul Gandhi declines
While there was unanimity on Mr. Kharge, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren suggested that Rahul Gandhi, as “a young and a dynamic face”, could also lead the bloc.
Mr. Gandhi promptly declined, citing the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra that will be flagged off from Manipur’s Thoubal district on January 14. He also asserted that Mr. Kharge was far more experienced, besides being the party president.
‘Nitish not upset’
Though there was was no official briefing after the online meeting, JD(U) general secretary Sanjay Jha, who is also a close aide of the Bihar Chief Minister, confirmed the developments regarding the top posts of the bloc.
“The [Bihar] CM has so far not given his approval to the proposal [of making him the convener],” Mr. Jha told reporters in Patna. “We will let you know after discussing the matter within the party,” he added.
Dismissing suggestions that Mr. Kumar was upset over Mr. Kharge being projected as the head of the bloc, Mr. Jha said, “On the contrary, it was our honourable CM himself who had suggested that someone from the Congress head the coalition.”
Alliance leaders
Top Congress leaders in the meeting included Mr. Kharge, parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, and general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal.
Other top Opposition leaders included Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham (DMK) chief and Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Aam Admi Party (AAP) convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Communist Party of India general secretary D. Raja, CPI (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.
Mr. Kharge started the proceedings by informing the INDIA partners of the Congress decision to decline the invitation to the upcoming consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.
Nitish unenthusiastic
Mr. Yechury asked whether the appointment of a chairperson and convener for the alliance was part of the meeting’s agenda. There was unanimity among everyone present about making the Bihar Chief Minister the convener, but Mr. Kumar himself did not show much interest. He argued that anyone could be considered for the role, including Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) stalwart Lalu Prasad Yadav.
His colleague, Rajeev Ranjan Singh Lalan, added that Mr. Kumar had never hankered after any position even though he had brought the Opposition parties together.
Mr. Gandhi, sources said, then suggested that while the JD(U) decided the matter within the party, those leaders who were not present on Saturday should also be consulted.
Plain speaking
But several leaders used the online meeting for some plain speaking. Mr. Raja stressed the need to accommodate the Left parties in seat-sharing talks and cautioned that differences among INDIA constituents should not give the BJP an advantage in West Bengal and Kerala.
Mr. Kejriwal pointed out that Congress leaders were resorting to public criticism of the AAP even when the two parties were engaged in seat-sharing for the Lok Sabha election. Mr. Gandhi then intervened to stress that “local issues” should not affect the alliance’s national plans.
“The Delhi Chief Minister also talked about transparency and pointed out how he was not able to meet Mr. Kharge and Mr. Gandhi for months despite writing to them,” an Opposition leader who attended the meeting told The Hindu.
By Saturday evening, the Congress released photographs of Mr. Kejriwal, accompanied by AAP leader Raghav Chadha, holding discussions with Mr. Kharge at the Congress chief’s official residence. Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Venugopal were both present as well.
During the meeting, Mr. Soren, without naming Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, referred to Congress leaders who had suggested the dismissal of the TMC government in Bengal over Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids and subsequent attacks on the ED teams. Mr. Venugopal quickly responded, saying that “it was not the official stand of the Congress”.
‘Fruitful’ meeting
In a post on X (formely Twitter), the Congress chief described Saturday’s gathering as a meeting of the INDIA Coordination Committee, saying that it had been “fruitful”.
“Everyone is happy that the seat sharing talks are progressing in a positive way. We also discussed about joint programs in the coming days by INDIA Parties. I, along with @RahulGandhi ji invited all INDIA Parties to join ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ at their convenience and use the opportunity to raise the social, political and economic issues plaguing common people of this country,” Mr. Kharge said.
