INDIA bloc projects Kharge as PM face

New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday proposed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's name as the opposition INDIA bloc's PM candidate, saying he could be the "first Dalit prime minister" of the country, but no decision was taken on it.

Several leaders, including MDMK leader Vaiko, confirmed this after the meeting of the opposition grouping and said Kharge told the leaders that it is important to win first and increase the strength of the alliance while everything else can be decided later. Though Kharge's name was proposed with several leaders backing him, no final decision on the issue was taken during the meeting, sources said.

After his name was proposed as a candidate to become the country's first Dalit prime minister at a meeting attended by leaders of 28 opposition parties, Kharge said, "I work for the downtrodden. Let's win first, then we will see. I don't seek anything. We have to first win, and who will be the prime minister is a matter to be decided later. First, we have to get a majority and increase our strength then MPs will decide democratically.

Sources said Mamata Banerjee also proposed that Kharge be made the convenor of a committee to oversee seat sharing between the INDIA bloc constituents in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. However, no decision was taken on this proposal also. Banerjee, after her arrival in the national capital on Monday, had told reporters that any decision on the prime ministerial face of the alliance would be taken after the election.

"When so many political parties are together, it is a democracy, with different states, different views and different opinions, but ultimately INDIA is a platform where we are fighting together," Banerjee had said earlier. "The BJP doesn't have any allies. The NDA is gone. We are not like that. It will be better, after the elections, we have to see the results, and then announce the PM candidate. All parties will decide that," she had said.