West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal have proposed the name of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as the prime ministerial candidate of the opposition INDIA bloc.
The veteran leader, however, was not keen on accepting the offer and said it’s important to win first and everything else could be decided later. “I work for the downtrodden. Let’s win first, then we will see. I don’t seek anything,” Kharge said.
Twenty-eight opposition leaders attended a crucial meeting in Delhi today to strategies for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, including a joint campaign and seat-sharing. Twelve parties supported the proposal to make Kharge as the PM candidate.
Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress is a major constituent of the alliance, had earlier claimed that the PM candidate would be decided only after the general elections.
The issue of suspension of 141 opposition MPs in both Houses of Parliament came up at the meeting with leaders cutting across party lines condemning the action against the members.
The INDIA bloc parties had a strength of 138 in Lok Sabha, of which only 43 MPs are now left in the house following the mass suspension over the last two days. The meeting also assumes significance as it comes weeks after the Congress suffered a humiliating defeat in the recent assembly polls, where BJP won in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
“Today democracy is being mercilessly murdered by the Modi government. Representatives who raise public voice are suspended from the House. In such an adverse situation, our unity is our strength and this resolve to protect democracy is our energy,” the Congress party said in a post on X earlier in the day. This is the fourth meeting of the INDIA bloc leaders, with the first one held in Patna, followed by meetings in Bengaluru and Mumbai.
