Patna, Jan 13 (IANS) INDIA bloc on Saturday held a virtual meeting to formalise strategy for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in which Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar refused to accept the convener’s post.
Bihar minister Sanjay Jha -- who was also present in the meeting -- said that there was a proposal for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to become the convener of the INDIA bloc.
“However, Nitish Kumar refused the proposal and offered the post to Congress. The Chief Minister showed no interest in taking the post,” Jha said.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, former president Rahul Gandhi, senior leader K.C. Venugopal; Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar along with Lalan Singh and Sanjay Jha; former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah; RJD President and Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav; NCP Chief Sharad Pawar; Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal; Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin besides other leaders participated in the virtual meeting.
Sources said that seat sharing arrangement, among other issues, were discussed in the meeting.
Trinamool welcomes Kharge’s appointment as INDIA bloc chairperson
Trinamool Congress has welcomed the decision to appoint Mallikarjun Kharge as the Chairperson of INDIA bloc, a decision which was taken during the virtual meeting of the opposition parties on Saturday.
“This is what Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said before. There was point in stirring up the matter for such a long time," the Trinamool Congress Spokesman Kunal Ghosh said.
Trinamool did not attend the virtual meeting as it was having reservations in having the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the convener of INDIA bloc.
However, after Nitish Kumar’s refusal to accept the chair, it paved way for Kharge to become the chairperson.
Meanwhile, the Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Anurag Thakur, who arrived in Kolkata on Saturday, ridiculed the virtual meeting of the INDIA bloc. He said that they (INDIA bloc) neither have any proper leader to lead nor has it any policy for the country.
“In West Bengal, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is saying something while Mamata Banerjee is saying completely opposite. How will this bloc survive with such egos?” Thakur questioned.
West Bengal Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that such comments are reflections of fear which the INDIA bloc has created in the BJP camp.
