Bengaluru: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday apparently brushed aside any speculation to launch Rahul Gandhi as the party's Prime Ministerial face saying his party is neither interested in PM post nor in power.
“I had already said in Chennai, on MK Stalin’s birthday, that Congress is not interested in power or the post of Prime Minister. Our intention in this meeting is not to gain power for ourselves. It is to protect our Constitution, Democracy, Secularism and Social Justice,” Kharge said in a statement at the Opposition meet.
He also used the Opposition meet in Bengaluru as a platform to hit out at the BJP, which he said, is "running from state to state" to patch up with old allies. "We are 26 parties, in government in 11 states; BJP didn't get 303 seats by itself, used votes of allies then discarded them," he said at the meting.
The leaders, who gathered in Bengaluru had a dinner meeting in the evening on Monday to formalise the agenda for Tuesday's closed-door talks. There is a high possibility that Sonia Gandhi, who was the chairperson of UPA, will be named the President of the Front, and Nitish Kumar the Convenor, sources said. Besides Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, chief ministers MK Stalin, Nitish Kumar, Arvind Kejriwal, Hemant Soren, Mamata Banerjee and RJD chief Lalu Prasad are among those taking part in the two-day meet. Sharad Pawar, whose party underwent a split earlier this month with the rebellion of nephew Ajit Pawar, has joined the meeting.
Sources said all parties have been asked to suggest the name of the front, which should have the word "India" in it. The tag line will be "United we stand". Suggestions have also been sought for the Common Minimum Programme. It was also said that the subject of states should be kept separate.
"Like-minded opposition parties shall closely work together to foster an agenda of social justice, inclusive development and national welfare. We want to free the people of India from the autocratic and anti-people politics of hate, division, economic inequality and loot... United We Stand, for this INDIA," tweeted Mallikarjun Kharge.
The dinner meeting at the Taj West End Hotel saw Mamata Banerjee and Sonia Gandhi closely seated next to each other. They had also a conversation earlier that lasted almost 20 minutes, delaying the beginning of the meet, sources said. While the two leaders are known to share a good rapport, relations between the Congress and Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress had soured lately. But both parties have moved past that, agreeing that defeating the BJP next year is priority to save democracy and federalism.
The meet is being hosted by the Congress at a carefully chosen venue where the party has stormed to power. The Congress victory in the recent Karnataka assembly election has lifted sagging morale of the party and provided firepower to it to go ahead with its plan to dislodge the BJP from power in 2024.
