{"id":184709,"date":"2023-08-30T04:25:59","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T04:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indiansapidnews.com\/?p=184709"},"modified":"2023-08-30T04:25:59","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T04:25:59","slug":"sonia-or-kharge-who-will-be-india-chairperson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indiansapidnews.com\/india\/sonia-or-kharge-who-will-be-india-chairperson\/","title":{"rendered":"Sonia Or Kharge: Who Will Be INDIA Chairperson?"},"content":{"rendered":"
‘Most leaders, from Lalu Yadav and Mamata to M K Stalin, respect and trust Sonia. She should continue unless she expressly declines.’<\/strong><\/p>\n Swift backchannel communications among the strategists of the 26-party Opposition bloc succeeded in untangling the brinkmanship knots of some of its leaders, thereby staying on an even keel within the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) alliance .<\/p>\n As INDIA constituents gather in Mumbai for the third summit on Thursday and Friday, several trends have emerged since their inaugural meeting in Patna two months ago.<\/p>\n The Trinamool Congress represents the voice of the critical smaller parties in the alliance, including the Samajwadi Party, the Aam Aadmi Party, the Shiv Sena, and the Janata Dal-United.<\/p>\n Even older Congress allies, like the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, are turning to the TMC.<\/p>\n Smaller parties have appreciated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee drawing the line, asserting that the largest party in any state should make decisions regarding alliances.<\/p>\n For instance, the JMM is unwilling to accept the Congress as its senior partner in Jharkhand, as was the case in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.<\/p>\n Backroom strategists from the Congress and TMC intervened to iron out three recent rough spots.<\/p>\n At least two TMC MPs reached out to Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party after her father Sharad Pawar met his nephew, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.<\/p>\n This meeting raised questions among Maha Vikas Aghadi constituents about the senior Pawar’s political allegiance.<\/p>\n Sule reassured them that her father would remain loyal to the alliance until his last day.<\/p>\n The Congress swiftly extinguished the flames of conflict between the Congress and AAP, with a senior Congress leader rejecting Alka Lamba’s statement that her party was preparing to contest all seven of Delhi’s Lok Sabha seats.<\/p>\n This statement had led AAP to threaten withdrawal from the alliance.<\/p>\n Additionally, in a third instance of successful backchannel diplomacy, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Chaudhary Jayant Choudhury’s absence from the Rajya Sabha during the vote for the Delhi Services Bill fuelled speculation about a potential alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.<\/p>\n Choudhury dispelled any notions of such an alliance last fortnight.<\/p>\n Moreover, while the Congress and TMC shape the fledgling INDIA, the Left parties find themselves marginalised, even though they have demonstrated political maturity by keeping their faith.<\/p>\n The proposal to establish the INDIA Secretariat at the Communist Party of India-Marxist)-owned H K S Surjeet Bhavan in Central Delhi is likely to be rejected by the TMC.<\/p>\n Interestingly, the Left continues to ally with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana, a party opposing the Congress in the coming state elections.<\/p>\n In Kerala and Bengal, the Left remains a rival to the Congress and TMC, respectively.<\/p>\n However, it is a constituent of the ruling INDIA parties’ alliances in Bihar and Tamil Nadu.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Furthermore, non-Congress parties have found solace in dealing with the accessible Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.<\/p>\n If Sonia Gandhi, the chairperson of the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance, were to decline her position, they might propose Kharge as the chairperson of the alliance.<\/p>\n The camaraderie between Mamata and Rahul Gandhi was a highlight of the alliance’s summit in Bengaluru on July 18.<\/p>\n However, the forthcoming challenge for the alliance during its two-day meeting on August 31 in Mumbai would be determining the salience that leaders like Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal believe they deserve.<\/p>\n While Nitish sees himself as the ‘architect’ of the alliance, AAP now holds the status of a ‘national party’ and seeks a more central role.<\/p>\n Sources within the bloc indicate that the Mumbai meeting will tackle some of these issues.<\/p>\n The alliance will establish a coordination committee to facilitate swifter and less public communication for resolving differences.<\/p>\n Additionally, four independent committees will examine the alliance’s agenda, seat-sharing, and social media synergy.<\/p>\n However, some believe that discussing a common minimum programme and seat-sharing at this stage is premature.<\/p>\n A choice for a chairperson must also be made.<\/p>\n “Most leaders, from Lalu Yadav and Mamata to M K Stalin, respect and trust Sonia. She should continue unless she expressly declines,” states a strategist.<\/p>\n Nitish could serve as the alliance’s convener, although there is mention of Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, who brings his experience from the 2003-2004 UPA formation.<\/p>\n “The alliance requires an ‘honest broker’, and Nitish might fit that role, contingent on the direction favoured by the Bengal CM,” observes a Congress strategist.<\/p>\n In terms of seat-sharing, the bloc maintains effective alliances in Tamil Nadu, including Puducherry, Maharashtra and Bihar, accounting for 128 seats.<\/p>\n The allocation of the 20 seats in Delhi and Punjab between the Congress and AAP presents a challenge.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Congress must decide on allies and confront the BJP across the Hindi heartland and Gujarat.<\/p>\n However, it treads cautiously in launching joint protests against inflation lest such actions singe state governments its constituents run.<\/p>\n Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani\/Rediff.com<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n