Mamata proposes Kharge as INDIA bloc's prime ministerial candidate

New Delhi : Even as the leaders of 28 Opposition parties came together on Tuesday for the fourth meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc, Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee proposed Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's name for the prime ministerial candidate for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

According to sources, Mamata Banerjee’s proposal for the bloc’s prime ministerial candidate was also endorsed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

However, sources said that Kharge asked the leaders to first focus on winning more seats in the 2024 General Elections and bringing the INDIA bloc to power. He also added that he had already got many posts during his lifetime and everyone should first focus on winning. Everyone agreed to his demands.

The source also said that the seat sharing discussions will begin from Wednesday onwards and are likely to be completed by the end of December.

Even during a press conference that was held after the meeting, Kharge, when asked if his name was proposed for the prime ministerial candidate of the Opposition bloc, said, "Our first priority is to win more seats and bring the alliance into power. Then the talks on the prime ministerial candidate will be discussed."

This was the fourth meeting of the INDIA bloc, which was attended by Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Farooq Abdullah, Nitish Kumar, Rajiv Ranjan, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Uddhav Thackeray, Sanjay Raut, MK Stalin, Sharad Pawar, Akhilesh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav.

The source also said that eight to ten joint public meetings will be planned from January onwards. During the meeting, every leader got the opportunity to share their views and suggestions.