Congress rubbishes reports claiming Nitish Kumar 'unhappy' over proposal of Mallikarjun Kharge as PM candidate
Dec 20, 2023
New Delhi [India], December 20 : After some media reports claimed that Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United (JDU) Supremo Nitish Kumar was "unhappy" over the proposal of Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge as the Prime Ministerial candidate, Congress dismissed the same stating that the meeting was concluded on a "good note".
"The meeting went on for five to six hours. The meeting was crucial and effective. It was concluded on a good note. If some media reports are claiming that Nitish Kumarji was unhappy over the meeting, there might be some 'vested interest' but I reckon that he is the convener of the alliance and he will make it reach its destination", said Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir while speaking to ANI.
"No such information has come out," he added.
The fourth meeting of the 'Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc took place in the national capital on Tuesday.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) Chief Mamata Banerjee floated Mallikarjun Kharge's name as the Prime Ministerial candidate of the mega alliance, however, some of the media reports claimed that Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Chief Lalu Yadav were "unhappy" over the proposal and left the meeting early.
Meanwhile, the meeting comes amid the political tensions escalating between the Opposition and the BJP-led central government over the demand of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement over the Parliament security breach.
An unprecedented number of MPs, a total of 143, were suspended from Parliament.
The alliance, led by the Congress, took shape with the primary objective of mounting a combined challenge to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in next year's general elections.
The first meeting of the joint opposition convened in Patna on June 23 and the second meeting was held in Bengaluru on July 17-18. The third meeting happened in Mumbai on August 31-September 1.
INDIA or 'Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance' is a group of opposition parties, including the Congress. The parties have come together to take on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and prevent it from winning a third straight term at the Centre in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In the Mumbai meeting, the opposition parties adopted resolutions to collectively contest the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections while announcing that seat-sharing arrangements would be finalized as soon as possible through a spirit of give-and-take.
The theme chosen by the INDIA bloc for the elections is "Judega Bharat, Jeetega India" (India will unite, India will win) to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government.
