Rahul Gandhi Contacts Nitish Kumar Following “Kharge For PM” Call

Although information is limited, it is believed that Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Kumar discussed the implications of the INDIA meeting on Wednesday, where Mallikarjun Kharge was put out as a potential prime minister

New Delhi: Amid speculation of further divisions within the INDIA group prior to the general election of 2019, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi contacted Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday evening. According to sources who spoke with NDTV, Mr. Gandhi was in a meeting and was unable to speak with the head of the Janata Dal (United), but they are scheduled to speak later today. The two are expected to discuss the implications of the meeting on Wednesday, where Nitish Kumar appeared to be sidelined as a potential convener for the group and/or prime ministerial candidate, though the agenda is unknown.

As to NDTV’s sources, Nitish Kumar actually had disagreements with leaders of INDIA over a number of matters, including renaming the bloc as ‘Bharat’. Sonia Gandhi of the Congress quickly shot down such proposal. Additionally, it is said that he became enraged with state ally Manoj Jha of the Rashtriya Janata Dal for translating his address from Hindi to Tamil for the advantage of DMK political leaders.

Additionally, there were rumors that Nitish Kumar had retaliated against the Congress for its poor showing in the Assembly elections in November, which were viewed by many as a sign of INDIA’s declining popularity with voters. After squabbling with allies over seat sharing, the Congress was crushed in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan – heartland states that INDIA needs to win (at least some anyway) to defeat the BJP.

The Samajwadi Party of Akhilesh Yadav, the JDU, and the Trinamool Congress of Bengal had all criticized the Congress for refusing to recognise the necessity of sharing seats, especially with regional parties.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal set tongues wagging at the Delhi meeting, which was in and of itself a flashpoint after the Congress prioritized last month’s polls over planning for the 2024 Lok Sabha election. They suggested that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge could serve as a convener and possibly even as prime minister should INDIA actually defeat the BJP.

Mr. Kharge declined right away, stating that he would rather concentrate on winning the election first.

Although Nitish Kumar has openly denied rumors that he wants to become prime minister, he is thought to be a contender in private. More overt support for their boss in August and September came from JDU leaders, who last month declared he possessed “all the qualities and experience that a PM should have”; this is the party’s way of being more direct. But the JDU was careful to clearly note that this needs to be a call for cooperation.

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Therefore, it appeared that Ms. Banerjee and Mr. Kejriwal’s proposal for Mr. Kharge to take the role caught Nitish Kumar off guard. According to sources, he stormed out of the meeting. “We (INDIA) will not project any face for 2024,” JDU spokesperson KC Tyagi subsequently declared. This was decided upon in the Mumbai summit, and judgments of this nature are not easily overturned by the opinions of a single person.”

The JDU further emphasized its commitment to the bloc, which Mr. Tyagi referred to as “…our child,” and stated that Nitish Kumar did not depart from the party in anger. “We gave birth to it… how can we be angry with it?”

The “Kharge for PM” incident has further shook INDIA, which was designed to bring the opposition together in the hopes of defeating the BJP’s electoral machinery. One of its main proponents and possibly even its founder, Nitish Kumar, will be hard for India to forgive losing thus early in the election season.