A day after stating that the prime ministerial candidate of the Opposition INDIA alliance will be decided after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday proposed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s name for the top post, reported NDTV, quoting unidentified officials.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance is a coalition of 28 Opposition parties that plans to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Banerjee’s proposal at the fourth meeting of the alliance also reportedly received support from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. “This is a chance to have the country’s first Dalit prime minister,” the Aam Aadmi Party chief was quoted as saying by the uidentified officials.
Kharge, however, neither confirmed nor denied the development and said that the Opposition alliance first needs to focus on winning the general elections.
“We have to win first, and think what to do to win,” said the Congress leader. “What is the point in discussing PM before having MPs. We will try to get a majority together.”
He also said that INDIA bloc parties are focussing on seat-sharing talks at the state level and will hold public meetings across the country.
On Monday, Banerjee had expressed confidence that the Opposition parties would resolve all the issues, including seat sharing.
She also stated that she was open to allying with the Congress and the Left Front in West Bengal for the 2024 polls.
Banerjee said that the BJP has “media and money power”, while the INDIA bloc has the support of the people.
She also stated that the alliance has not lost any time in putting its matters in order. “It is better late than never,” said the West Bengal chief minister.
“Have some faith,” she said. “We will discuss together, they were busy with elections, we were busy with festivals. Every state has their own problem. We are ready to fight every inch.”
On stitching an alliance with the Congress and the Left Front in West Bengal, Banerjee said: “Someone has to bell the cat.”
She added: “In Bengal, they [Congress] have only two seats. First, you have to prepare mentally, in-principal agree, then maybe, one, two political parties may not agree, but if the majority of the political parties agree for seat sharing one on one, automatically everyone will come together.”
The chief minister also said that the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party was unlikely to join the INDIA bloc.
Banerjee refused to comment on the possibility of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party joining the alliance.
“Somebody has agency problem, somebody has regional problem,” she said. “If the INDIA alliance is strong everybody will join.”
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