‘Talk in one voice’: Congress president Kharge’s appeal a day after JD(U)’s dig at grand old party | India News
NEW DELHI: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has a word of advice for all leaders of the INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) bloc: “Talk in one voice as there is no point in talking against each other.”
Kharge’s appeal comes a day after Nitish Kumar‘s Janata Dal (United) took a swipe at the grand old party and said “the Congress is worried about its party while we are concerned about India.” Congress allies have been restless over the delay in finalising the blueprint of opposition’s strategy for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“We are trying to ensure that all parties work together and the unity of our alliance stays intact. I appeal to all leaders to continue working together as we have done till now. We should fight together to teach a lesson to the BJP,” Kharge said.
In the last few days, the JD(U) has been openly critical about the role played by the Congress and has also given out stern message to the grand old party on being practical about its demands for seats, especially in states like Bihar where there is a non-Congress and non-BJP governments. The JD(U) has also made it clear that it will not talk to Congress about Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, but will deal only with Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
The dilly-dallying on the part of the Congress to declare a convener of the alliance and the reluctance of the grand old party to give prominence to Nitish Kumar is perhaps one of the reasons for the anger of the JD(U) leaders. Some JD(U) leaders have openly opposed a proposal by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to project Kharge as the prime ministerial candidate. They want Nitish Kumar to be projected as the prime ministerial candidate.
Lalu Prasad’s RJD has endorsed the concerns of the JD(U) and has said all parties of the alliance have similar concerns over the delay in starting opposition’s joint campaign.
Meanwhile, the Congress’s Seat Sharing Committee set up by Kharge has started preliminary talks for seat-sharing with allies in some of the states. It has held first round of talks with the Aam Aadmi Party for Delhi and Punjab, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party for Maharashtra and with the Samajwadi Party for Uttar Pradesh.
Will Adhir Ranjan listen to Kharge?
As far as Kharge’s appeal for talking in one voice is concerned, more than the alliance partners, it is his own leader in West Bengal Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury who needs to head the Congress president’s advice.
Adhir has been openly critical of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal and had joined the BJP in demanding President’s rule in the state after a team of Enforcement Directorate was attacked.
In fact, the JD(U) had objected to Adhir’s remarks and said that by openly attacking Mamata Banerjee the Congress was playing into the hands of the BJP in West Bengal.
Kharge’s appeal comes a day after Nitish Kumar‘s Janata Dal (United) took a swipe at the grand old party and said “the Congress is worried about its party while we are concerned about India.” Congress allies have been restless over the delay in finalising the blueprint of opposition’s strategy for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“We are trying to ensure that all parties work together and the unity of our alliance stays intact. I appeal to all leaders to continue working together as we have done till now. We should fight together to teach a lesson to the BJP,” Kharge said.
In the last few days, the JD(U) has been openly critical about the role played by the Congress and has also given out stern message to the grand old party on being practical about its demands for seats, especially in states like Bihar where there is a non-Congress and non-BJP governments. The JD(U) has also made it clear that it will not talk to Congress about Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, but will deal only with Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
The dilly-dallying on the part of the Congress to declare a convener of the alliance and the reluctance of the grand old party to give prominence to Nitish Kumar is perhaps one of the reasons for the anger of the JD(U) leaders. Some JD(U) leaders have openly opposed a proposal by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to project Kharge as the prime ministerial candidate. They want Nitish Kumar to be projected as the prime ministerial candidate.
Lalu Prasad’s RJD has endorsed the concerns of the JD(U) and has said all parties of the alliance have similar concerns over the delay in starting opposition’s joint campaign.
Meanwhile, the Congress’s Seat Sharing Committee set up by Kharge has started preliminary talks for seat-sharing with allies in some of the states. It has held first round of talks with the Aam Aadmi Party for Delhi and Punjab, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party for Maharashtra and with the Samajwadi Party for Uttar Pradesh.
Will Adhir Ranjan listen to Kharge?
As far as Kharge’s appeal for talking in one voice is concerned, more than the alliance partners, it is his own leader in West Bengal Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury who needs to head the Congress president’s advice.
Adhir has been openly critical of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal and had joined the BJP in demanding President’s rule in the state after a team of Enforcement Directorate was attacked.
In fact, the JD(U) had objected to Adhir’s remarks and said that by openly attacking Mamata Banerjee the Congress was playing into the hands of the BJP in West Bengal.