Heading the India bloc, Kharge is offered a convener role by Nitish

The INDIA bloc's members are split over the selection of Nitish Kumar as convener, but they have acknowledged Mallikarjun Kharge as the opposition grouping's chairman. There are tense relations inside the coalition as a result of Mamata Banerjee's rejection of Kumar's candidacy.In a virtual meeting held on Saturday, all members of the INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) bloc endorsed Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar as convener, with the exception of Trinamool Congress (TMC), and they all accepted Congress party chief Mallikarjun Kharge as the opposition grouping's chairperson, according to people familiar with the details.According to two leaders present during the meetings, the alliance partners decided to withhold their decisions until after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee voiced her opposition to Kumar's candidacy. The figures, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that they have been requested to persuade Banerjee to approve the decision. Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal and Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar have been tasked with this task.During the meeting, Kumar stated that he was not interested in becoming convener, but every member—aside from Trinamool—was eager for him to do so. Banerjee's vocal opposition infuriated members of the Janata Dal (United), among them Rajiv Ranjan, the party's former president, also known as Lalan Singh.Please talk to Kharge about this. Following the meeting, Singh informed HT that only he was authorized to speak.Kejriwal and the head of the Congress met separately in person later that evening at Kharge's home. Although neither party would comment on what happened, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal responded, "It was just a courtesy meeting," when questioned. Gandhi and Kejriwal had never met in person, according to a third source, which was the reason for the meeting. Although they had met before, this was the first time Delhi CM had paid him a visit.

This source remarked, "It was an indication of the growing willingness to work together and work out a relationship, coming the day after AAP's bilateral meeting with party representatives."Discussions on controversial states, like as Punjab, West Bengal, and Kerala, where the Congress has local units hostile to a broader alliance, kicked off the virtual gathering. According to one of the individuals mentioned above, Banerjee did not show up for the meeting because she felt that she should have known more than 16 hours in advance of the scheduled meeting.Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the Samajwadi Party (SP), who had traveled to Delhi the day before, did not attend. MK Stalin, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, informed the gathering that seat-sharing arrangements in his state could only be finalized after Pongal. Rahul Gandhi, the head of the Congress, told the members of the coalition that he planned to begin his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on Sunday and invited all other parties to take part.Following the discussion of the issues surrounding seat sharing, the matter of selecting a chairperson and convener was raised. Given that the Congress holds the majority of the coalition's seats, Kharge was suggested for the first position.

According to one of the leaders mentioned previously, Kharge suggested that Gandhi serve as chair, but Gandhi responded that Kharge was the more qualified candidate.On the convener's standpoint, nevertheless, disagreements surfaced. While Kumar was voicing his concerns, other participants deliberated on whether the declaration ought to be made straight away. Then it was brought up that it wouldn't be suitable because Yadav and Banerjee were both not present and their consent was necessary. Members were then informed that Banerjee had already been informed by Gandhi of Kumar's candidacy and that she had not agreed. The leader added that when this was discussed, Kumar and Singh were present. Other bloc members emphasized that everyone else was in agreement and recommended enlisting Kejriwal and Pawar to convince Banerjee to join them. An infuriated Singh informed the gathering that the JD(U) opposed this selection and that the Congress ought to select a replacement.