New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may be picked as INDIA alliance’s convener as leaders of the Opposition bloc are set to meet virtually around 6:30 pm today.
Not all parties will be available for the discussion. “Around 10-12 parties will participate, and the decision will be conveyed to other,” News 18 reported quoting sources, adding further that there is near consensus on Nitish Kumar as Rahul and Sonia Gandhi, and Mamata Banerjee pushed for the Janata Dal (United) leader.
One of the main reasons behind picking Kumar is that he’s from the Hindi heartland (Bihar), which the Opposition feels will counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strength and popularity in the belt.
“At a time when Rahul Gandhi is embarking on an important yatra, we want to keep the momentum going. If Nitish Kumar crosses over to the BJP-led NDA, the effort to unite the Opposition will fizzle out. Most of the INDIA bloc members seem to share this concern. The Congress, anyway, will maintain its primacy as the leading party in the alliance by keeping the position of national president or chairperson with Kharge,” a report in The Indian Express quoted a Congress leader as saying.
Congress Bihar president Akhilesh Prasad Singh also signalled that Nitish Kumar will be made their alliance convener.
A report in Times of India quoted Singh as saying that rumours were being floated about Nitish going away from the INDIA bloc, but nothing such was going to happen.
