I.N.D.I.A Bloc: Nitish Kumar In No Mood To Be Convener After Kharge Appointed Chairperson
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2024-01-14 14:21:21
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
The virtual meeting of the I.N.D.I.A bloc, held on Saturday was attended by just 10 out of the 28 parties that make up the alliance. Prominent leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Uddhav Thackeray were conspicuous by their absence. Mamata Banerjee said that she was informed very late about the meeting and had already scheduled a programme for the day. The TMC later said that it was playing a pivotal role in the bloc as a strong partner and will attend future meetings.
In the virtual meeting, it was unanimously decided to appoint Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as the chairperson of the bloc. Kharge has been relatively successful in bringing a sense of cohesion in the Congress party after he took over as president. It remains to be seen how successful he is in binding the disparate parties that make up the alliance. But there was a problem in appointing the convener as Nitish Kumar, the unanimous choice for the post after Sitaram Yechury of the CPM proposed his name, declined to accept it. He was of the view that either Lalu Yadav or 'someone from the Congress' should be appointed convener.
After hankering for the convener's post in the past, his refusal to accept the post shows that Nitish Kumar is miffed that he will have to work under the chairperson. This does not bode well for the alliance. With tiffs over seat-sharing being reported in almost all states, the latest turn of events show another area where the alliance will have to work hard. It is being reported that Nitish Kumar ignored repeated pleas by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders to accept the post.
The I.N.D.I.A bloc is stuttering along at a snail's pace. It was formed in June-July last year and took 6 months to appoint a chairperson. Although some committees have been formed, the alliance is still to come up with a common minimum programme (CMP) or a counter-narrative to the BJP's Hindutva push and their response to the Ram Mandir inauguration has been cautious, to say the least. There was no urgency to fight in a united manner in the five assembly elections that were held recently with the result that the BJP scored in the three heartland states of MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. The Congress suffered heavy defeats in these states, lowering its status and negotiating power in the alliance. Now, there are major tiffs over seat-sharing in many states. At this rate, the alliance might put up a flop show in the 2024 elections.
