An unwilling convenor in Nitish Kumar and a reluctant chairperson in Mallikarjun Kharge – is this the fate the opposition INDIA alliance is destined for ahead of Lok Sabha elections 2024?
While Kharge’s appointment as the INDIA bloc chairperson seems to be a done deal with sources saying consensus emerged on the Congress president’s name at Saturday’s meeting, it might be a Herculean task to bring on board sulking JD(U) supremo and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the alliance’s convenor. Neither positions, however, necessarily mean its occupants would be the bloc’s prime ministerial candidate.
The near consensus on Nitish Kumar as the convenor of the anti-BJP alliance seems to have faded as sources said a representative of the JD(U) conveyed to other constituents of the bloc at the virtual meeting that the Bihar CM is not counting himself as an aspirant to the position.
One of the reasons Nitish Kumar is reportedly seeking to withdraw himself from contention is that a few leaders, notable among them Rahul Gandhi, felt the JD(U) chief as alliance convenor may not be acceptable to Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.
Such divisions, coupled with Nitish Kumar’s disappointment at not being accorded the deference as the alliance’s architect, have stoked speculation that the Bihar CM may be losing interest in the INDIA coalition, much to the glee of the BJP which has been maintaining that the opposition bloc was a non-starter.
Initially, Rahul Gandhi and a few other Congress leaders were expecting that Nitish Kumar as the convenor would add Hindi belt heft in the alliance’s challenge to the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And Mallikarjun Kharge as the chairperson of the alliance would more than make up for the southern sentiment and Dalit outreach, adding weight to the bloc’s pitch for a country-wise caste census.
Interestingly, some leaders like JMM chief and Jharkhand CM Heman Soren casually proposed the name of Rahul Gandhi as the chairperson, but the suggestion, sources said, was met with silence. Given the competitive undertones of the intra-alliance negotiations, the chairpersonship of the alliance seems to have been thrust on Kharge, a ‘safe’ choice.
On paper, a North Indian convenor and a Dalit South Indian chairperson would spell gold for any political alliance, but the INDIA bloc has too many cooks with their hands in the pie.
Saturday’s virtual meeting was skipped by Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, both of who cited “prior engagements”. There are considerable differences on seat-sharing between the Congress and TMC in West Bengal and the Congress and SP in Uttar Pradesh.
In fact, just before the meeting began, a TMC source told News18: “We are with the INDIA alliance to defeat the BJP. But the Congress needs to understand the reality in Bengal and compromise.”
Saturday’s meeting also comes a day before the Congress launches its grand Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Imphal in violence-hit Manipur. The election yatra is another point of discontent in the alliance as other parties feel the Congress should be holding joint rallies with allies rather than setting off a solo march that spotlights Rahul Gandhi.
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