The long and short of Kharge’s prime ministerial ‘candidacy’

The surprise suggestion from Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal is a masterstroke to keep Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar out. It also signals that they would not settle for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi being I.N.D.I.A’s prime ministerial candidate,

There are too many ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ to the story ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. If someone says right away that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge is the next ‘Manmohan Singh’, then everything needs to be taken with more than a pinch of salt.

At the December 19 meeting of the I.N.D.I.A bloc, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal stirred the pot by suggesting Kharge’s name as the alliance’s prime ministerial candidate for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The surprise suggestion also means that the Congress, being the largest party in the alliance, alone could offer the alliance's leadership if it must remain stable and viable.

Besides, the two non-Congress leaders plumping for the Dalit leader is undoubtedly a masterstroke to keep Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose supporters have given more than ample hints that their leader is cut out for much larger things, out. Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) (JDU) is part of I.N.D.I.A.

But it also signals that they would not settle for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi if one presupposes that he is dying to become the next Prime Minister. The strident ‘Pappu’ campaign after much affecting him initially, has done a lot of good to the Congress leader to see things in perspective.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader T R Baalu, while speaking at a function at which a book on Kharge was released over a fortnight back, indicated that the Congress President is cut out for larger things and could go further up.

Kumar, who till the other day was telling alliance leaders that his sole aim is to bring unity among the opposition parties, looks ruffled. The latest that has come from Patna is that the JDU seems to have revisited its strategy for the Lok Sabha polls. Now, it is likely to pitch for collective leadership for the grouping’s campaign in a bid to foil similar attempts that may be mounted by any of its constituents in the run-up to the 2024 polls.

A meeting of the JDU’s National Executive has been convened by Kumar next week, and all eyes will be on its outcome. Reports before the I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting spoke of the JDU being peeved at not offering any position to Kumar despite being the longest-serving chief minister of the opposition grouping, while maintaining its commitment to fight the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad, too, might not be pleased over the turn of events, but the feeling in the alliance is that he could do precious little given the fact that Congress has generated a lot of goodwill among the minorities which any ally would choose to ignore at his peril.

It would be foolhardy to assume that the Congress was unaware of the drama likely to be played out at the meeting. Accidents do not happen in politics. In politics, never is it just black and white, but it is the many shades of grey. Octogenarian Kharge has suddenly emerged as one of the key figures in the opposition alliance. It could also be that opposing any Dalit leader openly could have its political costs, maybe it be Kumar or anyone else. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah would also have to rethink afresh their strategy if Kharge is made I.N.D.I.A’s prime ministerial candidate. The plan must have sent alarm bells in the world’s largest party, which is overconfident about its victory in the Lok Sabha polls just four months away. There are no two opinions about it. 

Kharge brushed aside Banerjee’s and Kejriwal's suggestion saying it would be like putting the cart before the horse, which has further confounded the critics and admirers of the Congress alike. Sometimes, in politics remaining ambivalent becomes a more powerful weapon as it keeps the detractors guessing. One can say a lot without saying it. The only thing is that the message should reach the desired recipient.

The Congress is making plans to hold a ‘Hai Taiyaar Hum’ rally at Nagpur, Maharashtra, on its foundation day on December 28 which is expected to be a huge affair. Indications of which way the political winds are blowing would be known at the rally in a city where Ambedkar embraced Buddhism, and which also houses the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s headquarters.

One thing is clear, the Opposition is raring to make a fight in the Lok Sabha polls by deciding to have a one-to-one contest against the BJP in over 400 of the total 543 seats. These are early days, and the days ahead would see many moves and countermoves that would make the fight more exciting.

(Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari are senior journalists.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.