Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday emerged as the consensus choice to lead the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) as its chairperson. The decision was taken at a virtual meeting of Opposition leaders. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was among the potential candidates; however, he neither immediately accepted nor rejected the proposal. Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s name was also suggested – which he promptly declined.
Mr Gandhi expressed his unavailability for accepting the position citing the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra that is scheduled to be flagged off from Manipur’s Thoubal district on January 14. He also held that the incumbent Congress Chief was far more experienced.
It was being speculated that Mr Kumar was upset about his not being given the post. Close aide and General Secretary of JD(U) Sanjay Jha however dismissed the assertion. “On the contrary, it was our honourable CM himself who had suggested that someone from Congress head the coalition,” he told press people.
The decision would however be finalised after consulting leaders who skipped the meeting, including Trinamool Congress president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Tweeting about the development, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka DK Shivakumar extended his greeting on social media platform ‘X’. “AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge is not just Karnataka’s pride, he is the country’s pride, and one of the most experienced leaders we have right now,” he wrote.
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