After the INDIA alliance met for the 4th key meeting in Delhi on Tuesday to decide seat sharing and the gameplan for 2024 Lok Sabha polls, BJP leader and Union Minister Giriraj Singh said AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee proposed Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s name as the opposition INDIA bloc’s prime ministerial candidate to “oust” Rahul Gandhi from the race.
Banerjee and Kejriwal on Tuesday proposed Mallikarjun Kharge’s name as the opposition INDIA bloc’s prime ministerial candidate after a meeting in Delhi, saying he can be the country’s “first Dalit prime minister” but no decision has been taken on it, PTI reported.
Several leaders, including the MDMK’s Vaiko, confirmed the development after the meeting of the opposition grouping and said Kharge said during the talks that it is important to win first and increase the strength of the alliance while everything else can be decided later.
“Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee know that Khargeji won’t be the prime ministerial candidate when Rahul Gandhi is there. Both of them have laid a chakravyuh (trap) to oust Rahul Gandhi (from the race). They have taken both of them (Kharge and Gandhi) in their trap,” Singh told PTI when asked for comment.
Meanwhile, taking a jibe at the INDIA bloc huddle, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale said the constituents of the opposition INDIA bloc held the meeting to stall the country’s progress.
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“A meeting of the opposition parties’ INDIA bloc was held today (Tuesday). This meeting was held so that the country doesn’t progress,” said Athawale, whose Republican Party of India (A) is part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
He said all INDIA bloc constituents have come together “only to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi” in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “But defeating Modi is not child’s play,” Athawale told PTI.
“Narendra Modi is a strong person. He has worked for this country and its people. The BJP has just formed its government in three states after winning the assembly elections,” he said.
“In the Telangana assembly polls, the BJP’s vote share increased along with its tally, from one seat to eight. Hence, I feel that the people are with us,” Athawale added.
(With inputs from PTI)