No meeting held to appoint convener of opposition INDIA bloc: Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday said no meeting has been held for the appointment of a convener or chairperson of the opposition INDIA alliance.

With little time left for the Lok Sabha polls, the opposition INDIA bloc parties met on December 19, 2023 and decided to finalise seat-sharing as soon as possible.

At the meeting, some leaders also proposed Mallikarjun Kharge's name as the prime ministerial face of the coalition, but the Congress chief said it is important to win first and the leadership issue can then be decided "democratically".

Asked if JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would be the face of the opposition alliance, Raut on Monday told reporters, "No meeting of INDIA bloc has taken place recently. Even during the last meeting in Delhi, no such proposal came up in the INDIA bloc meeting."

Raut said Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has expressed the need to have a "face of the opposition bloc".

"Uddhav Thackeray said in the INDIA bloc meeting in Delhi that we need to bring a face to the forefront. It will be a unanimously chosen senior leader who will work as the convener or chairperson of this alliance," the Rajya Sabha member said.

Last month, an editorial in the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece 'Saamana' suggested that a 'sarthi' (charioteer) be appointed to steer the opposition alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The Marathi daily had also advised the Congress to take all allies together if it wants to strengthen the opposition INDIA bloc.