Didi, Kejri pitch Kharge as PM face; let’s win first, says Cong chief
Though Kharge’s name was proposed with several leaders backing him, no final decision on the issue was taken during the meeting, sources said.
(L-R) Chief Minister MK Stalin, Sonia Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, RJD chief Lalu Yadav, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee at the INDIA meet
NEW DELHI: West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday proposed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s name as the Opposition INDIA bloc’s PM candidate, saying he could be the “first Dalit PM” of the country, but no decision was taken on it.
Several leaders, including MDMK leader Vaiko, confirmed this after the meeting and said Kharge told the leaders that it was important to win first and increase the strength of the alliance while everything else could be decided later.
Though Kharge’s name was proposed with several leaders backing him, no final decision on the issue was taken during the meeting, sources said.
After his name was proposed as a candidate to become the country’s first Dalit prime minister, Kharge said, “I work for the downtrodden. Let’s win first, then we will see. I don’t seek anything.”
“We have to first win, and who will be the prime minister is a matter to be decided later. First, we have to get a majority and increase our strength, then MPs will decide democratically,” Kharge later told reporters when asked if his name was finalised as the PM face of the opposition alliance.
“We will first try and win unitedly,” he said, adding that everything would be decided after that.
Sources said Mamata also proposed that Kharge be made the convenor of a committee to oversee seat-sharing talks. However, no decision was taken on this proposal either.
Earlier, the 28 leaders of the opposition bloc discussed the way forward, including seat-sharing, for taking on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The leaders deliberated on a blueprint for a joint campaign, seat-sharing arrangement and redrawing their strategy after the Congress suffered a setback in the recent Assembly polls, losing to BJP in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Sources said seat-sharing talks may begin immediately and would end by this month itself, amid demands by some leaders to finish them at the earliest.
