New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday proposed Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's name for the I.N.D.I.A. bloc's PM candidate. Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal has also backed the proposal.
According to sources, Banerjee has proposed the name of Kharge for the top post at the meeting of the Opposition bloc.
To this, Kharge responded saying that their focus should be on winning the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
"Our priority is to win first. Who becomes the PM can be discussed later. If MPs are not there, what is the use of talking about the PM? We should first try to fight unitedly and bring majority," Kharge said in response to media queries on reports suggesting that Bengal CM proposed his name as the PM face of the I.N.D.I.A alliance.
This comes as I.N.D.I.A bloc on Tuesday held a crucial meeting, during which opposition leaders discussed various issues, including seat-sharing, a single campaign blueprint, and chalking out a strategy to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
When asked about Banerjee's suggestion at the meeting, MDMK (Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) MP Vaiko said, "There was no opposition to that suggestion - Mallikarjun Kharge for PM face."
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader Thol. Thirumavalavan said, "(West Bengal CM) Mamata Banerjee proposed that we (INDIA alliance) should project (Congress president) Mallikarjun Kharge as our PM candidate. However, Kharge rejected her point, saying there is no point in announcing a coordinator or our PM face. He said that we should decide about it only after the polls."
With just a few months till the 2024 elections, and the assembly elections being a drag, the opposition group has limited time to recover its election narrative to take on a resurgent BJP led by Prime Minister Modi.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) held its fourth conference on Tuesday. On June 23, I.N.D.I.A bloc held its inaugural meeting in Patna. Its second conference took place on July 17-18 in Bengaluru, and the third on August 31 and September 1 in Mumbai.