Kharge as Prime Minister of INDIA bloc? Does the Congress leader have a chance against Modi? – First position

If you are the opposition, the question on your mind is: how to stop the juggernaut of Narendra Modi? And it seems the answer lies with Mallikarjun Kharge.

Amid the drama of a record 141 opposition MPs being suspended from Parliament, the National Indian Inclusive Development Alliance (INDA) bloc met on Tuesday for its fourth meeting in the capital where the leader of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have proposed that Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress should be made Prime Minister in the next Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

According to leaders present at the meeting, Banerjee was quoted as saying: “He can be the first Dalit Prime Minister of India. »

Banerjee’s suggestion of Kharge as the prime ministerial candidate also received the approval of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal, who was quoted as saying, “I have done some research and I can confidently say that contesting elections with a Dalit face will be a challenge. big advantage. We have not had a Dalit as Prime Minister and that will help us, especially in Karnataka.

However, the Congress leader put a stop to the plan, saying the decision on the prime ministerial candidate would be taken after the elections. “We must first win and get a majority, then MPs will decide democratically,” Kharge told reporters when asked if he could be the face of the opposition prime minister.

VIDEO | “(West Bengal CM) Mamata Banerjee proposed that we (Indian alliance) project (Congress president) Mallikarjun Kharge as our prime ministerial candidate. However, Kharge rejected her argument, saying it only serves to nothing to announce a coordinator or our face as Prime Minister. He said we should… pic.twitter.com/T0BwKz8Gcv

– Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 19, 2023

Notably, Banerjee’s speech in support of Kharge was a surprising turn of events at the fourth meeting of the opposition bloc, with several participants caught off guard.

But even though Kharge has given up on leading the alliance against Modi, many are wondering: Can Kharge really be a competitor to the Prime Minister in the elections?

Who is Mallikarjun Kharge?

Known as a Gandhi family loyalist, Mallikarjun Kharge, 80, is an eight-time MP, a two-time Lok Sabha MP and currently a member of the Rajya Sabha.

Kharge, a leader of the Dalit community, has stayed away from controversies and maintained a clean image throughout his decades-old political career.

Born on July 21, 1942 in a poor family in Gulbarga district of Karnataka, Kharge studied law and practiced for a while before joining the Congress in 1969, according to Indian Express.

Kharge entered electoral politics in 1972 and four years later he became a minister for the first time in the Devaraj Urs government.

He won nine consecutive times from his native constituency of Gulbarga in the Karnataka Assembly elections between 1972 and 2008.

After this, he turned to national politics and won two successive Lok Sabha polls (2009 and 2014) from the Gulbarga seat.

In 1994, Kharge was appointed Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, a role he resumed in 2008.

Kharge served as a minister in six different governments in Karnataka, but missed his chance to rise to the chief minister’s post three times – in 1999, 2004 and 2013.

In 1999, he lost the post of Chief Minister of Karnataka to SM Krishna and had to settle for the home portfolio.

Dharam Narayan Singh was appointed chief minister in 2004. According to News18, Kharge’s supporters had pleaded with him to express his displeasure with Sonia Gandhi and refuse the ministerial berth. However, the veteran leader had rejected their demands, saying he had never opposed the Gandhis and would not embarrass them.

In 2013, the Congress returned with a thumping majority in Karnataka and Siddaramaiah was sworn in as chief minister.

As president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee from 2005 to 2008, Kharge won the highest number of Congress seats against the then ruling alliance of the BJP and the JD(S), notes The Hindu.

He worked as a Union Minister in the Manmohan Singh government, first as Labor Minister (May 2009-June 2013) and then as Railways Minister (June 2013-May 2014).

From 2014 to 2019, he led the Congress in the Lok Sabha.

Kharge, known as ‘solillada saradara’ (an undefeated leader), suffered the first defeat of his electoral career in 2019 when he was defeated by BJP’s Umesh Jadhav in Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency by a margin of 95,452 votes.

However, the Congress leadership brought him back to Parliament through the Rajya Sabha route and he was elected unopposed to the Upper House in June 2020 from Karnataka.

In October last year, Kharge saw his stature rise when he won the Congress presidential elections, securing 7,897 votes to just 1,000 for Shashi Tharoor, while 416 votes were found invalid. His victory in the party polls made him the first non-Gandhi party leader in 24 years.

Can Kharge present himself as a challenger to Modi?

For many, Kharge’s impeccable career and widespread acceptance make him a viable contender against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Many poll experts note that he is more acceptable than any other leader in the alliance, except perhaps Sharad Pawar. From a non-Congress party perspective, he is also the most acceptable face within the Congress.

Additionally, he is believed to be a more reasonable person to deal with.

But what perhaps makes him the strongest contender is his Dalit identity. A follower of Babasaheb Ambedkar, Kharge also shares good equations among Ambedkarite organizations. Moreover, many political leaders as well as experts believe that his caste identity would be the main factor in Kharge’s favor. In fact, if he becomes Prime Minister, he would be the first Dalit to hold this position in Indian history.

Kharge is also known as the face of the South and Karnataka is seen by many as a swing state for the 2024 elections.

And just like Modi, Kharge is also known to be a hard-working politician – working 24/7 and approachable.

However, despite these factors, it will be a tough task for Kharge to take on Modi. Perhaps one of the biggest factors working against it is the fact that it does not resonate in the Hindi heartland. Although he speaks fluent Hindi, Kharge is not well known in the region.

Another factor that could harm Kharge is his age. The Congress leader is 80 years old and his age and lack of charisma (or as the young people call him, rizz) could hamper the INDIA bloc’s outreach to young people and new voters. This would also reinforce the BJP’s accusation that the Congress is out of sync with India’s youth.

And finally, a major factor going against Kharge is his party – the Congress. Many within the alliance may not be comfortable with the bloc’s leader coming from a party that is facing one electoral defeat after another.

Only time will tell if Kharge is indeed Modi’s candidate in the 2024 elections. For now, the alliance itself must come together, put aside its differences and develop a viable strategy to present itself as an option to the voters.

With the contribution of agencies