Bihar CM Nitish Kumar may become INDIA convenor with Congress help

Has Congress' backing for appointment as bloc's convenor

The Janata Dal (United) is optimistic about the INDIA bloc of parties announcing Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as convenor of the Opposition alliance, with most of its constituents, particularly the Congress, amenable to his appointment.

The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is set to make several key decisions in the lead-up to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s two-month-long Manipur-to-Mumbai Bharat Nyaya Yatra, commencing on January 14. These decisions are likely to include declaring Kumar as convenor of the alliance and finalising seat-sharing agreements in crucial states, such as Bihar and Maharashtra.

Last week, Kumar assumed the role of JD(U) president. The Congress leadership has since reached out to him, committing itself to backing him as convener of the alliance and persuading other leaders to come on board in recognition of the crucial role that the Bihar CM has played since February 2023 in shaping the bloc.

In a meeting of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) in Patna on February 18 last year, Kumar and Congress’ Salman Khurshid, dispatched by his party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, initiated consultations to form an Opposition alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. This led to the alliance’s top leaders holding their inaugural meeting in Patna in June.

Sources within the INDIA bloc said that appointing Kumar as convener would lend credibility to the INDIA bloc’s demand, particularly that of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, for conducting a nationwide caste census. The Bihar government conducted a caste survey and made the details public in 2023.

Meanwhile, the Congress’ five-member alliance committee is diligently working to finalise seat-sharing agreements in Maharashtra and Bihar. However, progress has been elusive in Punjab. The state units of the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress have resisted any seat sharing between the two, arguing that it would be illogical to unite against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state, where the latter fourth in terms of vote percentage. The BJP’s influence is confined to Hindu pockets in Punjab’s urban areas.

The Congress continues to concentrate on southern India, where it believes it can bolster its Lok Sabha tally. Y S Sharmila, founder of the YSR Telangana Party, is due in Delhi on Wednesday to finalise the merger of her party into the Congress. Sharmila is scheduled to meet Kharge and Gandhi. Her party had lent its support to the Congress in the Telangana Assembly polls, which the Congress won.