Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge To Lead Opposition Alliance INDIA

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge appointed chairperson of opposition bloc INDIA, news agency PTI said citing sources. The dehvelopment comes after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar rejected the post of convener and backed Congress to lead the alliance. On Saturday afternoon, leaders of the INDIA bloc, a coalition of opposition parties, held a virtual meeting to discuss their seat-sharing plan, their participation in the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, and other issues concerning the alliance.

The meeting was attended by NCP chief Sharad Pawar from Mumbai, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK leader MK Stalin and party leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi from Chennai, via video conferencing. However, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee could not join the meeting as she had a prior state engagement.

In the previous meeting of the INDIA bloc, Mamata Banerjee and SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav had suggested the name of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge as the prime ministerial candidate of the alliance.

INDIA, which stands for ‘Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance’, is a group of opposition parties, including the Congress, that have joined forces to challenge the NDA, led by the BJP, and stop it from securing a third consecutive term at the Centre in the Lok Sabha elections.