Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge named INDIA bloc chief

Kharge has been heading the Congress since October 2022

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has been named as the chief of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), reports said on January 13.

Kharge was given the charge of leading the Opposition bloc after Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar, seen as one of the top contenders for the post, said someone from the Congress should take over as the alliance's head, the reports added.

"The CM (Nitish Kumar) wanted that INDIA alliance convener should be from Congress only," JD(U) leader Sanjay Kumar Jha told reporters in Delhi.

An official announcement from the INDIA bloc was awaited by the time the preliminary reports emerged.

The development came on the day when the 28 parties of the mega Opposition alliance met virtually to formulate their strategy for the upcoming general elections.

Also Read: Faceless INDIA Alliance = Advantage Modi

Seat-sharing troubles

Although the INDIA parties came together back in June last year, the alliance has so far failed to come out with a joint poll plank, and iron-out their differences over the sharing of seats, analysts point out.

Reports, citing the early set of negotiations, claim that the Samajwadi Party has sought to contest from 65 out of the 80 seats of Uttar Pradesh, leaving only 15 for allies Congress and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).

In Bihar, the JD(U) and RJD have demanded 16 seats each, The Indian Express reported earlier this week. They have proposed to allocate five of the remaining seats in the state for the Congress and three for the Left parties.

In Maharashtra, the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of Shiv Sena has demanded to contest from 23 out of the state's 48 seats. However, reports earlier this week suggested that the party will contest on 20 seats, the same as the Congress, whereas, the remainder would be allocated to the Sharad Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi.

The seat-sharing talks are also expected to be long-drawn in West Bengal, where the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is unlikely to cede a significant number of seats for the Left and the Congress -- both of whom failed to open their accounts in the Assembly elections of 2021.

Similarly, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are expected to be involved in intense set of negotiations to agree on a seat-sharing formula for Delhi and Punjab.

Reports said that the Congress is keen on contesting in four of the seven seats in Delhi, and seven out of the 14 seats in Punjab. The AAP, which is ruling party in both the regions, has reportedly demanded a larger share. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party also seeks to contest in Gujarat and Haryana.

Congress to compromise

The Congress, which is electorally the largest party within the INDIA bloc, is looking forward to compromise its position in a bid to pose a united challenge to the Centre-ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), reports said.

The party would be focusing on 255 Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming elections, which would be its lowest tally since Independence, The Indian Express reported on January 6, citing sources.

Notably, the Congress had contested 421 seats in the 2019 elections, but won only 52 out of them. Its strike rate was poorer in the 2014 polls, when it fielded candidates in 474 constituencies, but won in only 44 seats.