Why Nitish Kumar rejected convenor post of INDIA bloc? Explained in 5 points
INDIA bloc leaders appoint Mallikarjun Kharge as chairperson and Nitish Kumar as convener. Nitish Kumar rejects the offer, insisting that someone from Congress should take responsibility.
A "proposal" to make Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar the convener of the INDIA bloc came up at the meeting of coalition leaders, a senior JD(U) leader confirmed. However, Kumar had "so far not given approval" to the offer.
JD(U) national general secretary Sanjay Kumar Jha said it will be deliberated upon within the party even as he claimed that the Bihar CM was in favour of a Congress leader becoming the chairperson.
A virtual meeting of INDIA bloc leaders began on Saturday afternoon to review the seat-sharing agenda, participation in Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and other matters related to the alliance.
Why Nitish Kumar rejected the offer? 5 things to know
- PTI had reported earlier that the JD(U) wanted Nitish Kumar as the convener but was being opposed by the TMC.
- “If I am correct, Mamata Banerjee has already cleared the party’s stand on the proposal of making Nitish Kumar the convener, with other members of the alliance,” a veteran TMC leader said, as reported by the Hindustan Times. The leader further reiterated that it is only Banerjee who will speak on this INDIA-alliance issue.
- Kumar, meanwhile, said he would only accept the role if all parties were in agreement, as reported by Indian Express.
- However, rejecting the reports, NCP president Sharad Pawar commented, "There was a suggestion made by the INDIA 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.”
What were the key agendas of the meeting?
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.
The NCP president further commented it was a positive sign that several parties were coming together to ally.
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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First Published:13 Jan 2024, 05:30 PM IST
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