- Congress CWC debated Nitish Kumar’s INDIA bloc exit.
- Sonia Gandhi and Kharge cited Kumar always seeking exit.
- Kumar frequently switched alliances before rejoining NDA recently.
- Kumar blamed slow alliance progress for his departure.
Nitish Kumar INDIA Bloc Exit: A disagreement over Nitish Kumar’s departure from the INDIA bloc reportedly surfaced during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Tuesday, with senior leader Digvijaya Singh and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi taking contrasting positions on the JD(U) chief’s exit. Singh reportedly told the meeting that the Congress should have prevented Kumar from leaving the Opposition alliance, arguing that his continued presence could have altered the political situation. Gandhi, however, took a different view, saying Kumar had been looking for an opportunity to leave the bloc.
“We should not have allowed Kumar to leave the INDIA bloc. Had he stayed, the political situation would have been different,” Singh said, according to Congress sources of NDTV.
Gandhi responded: “Thank God Nitish Kumar left in time. He was always meant to go there. He was constantly looking for new ways to exit the INDIA bloc,” according to sources. She also alleged that Kumar was being controlled by the BJP.
Kharge Backs Sonia
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge reportedly agreed with Gandhi’s assessment of Kumar’s departure from the Opposition alliance.
Kharge said that although he had not intended to raise the issue, he would point out that Kumar had been seeking a way out of the INDIA bloc. He also questioned Kumar’s push to become the alliance’s convenor.
According to Kharge’s assessment, Kumar’s interest in becoming the convenor was a “charade”, given that he had earlier told Kharge that he wanted to remain active in Bihar politics while supporting the Opposition grouping at the national level.
The discussion took place as Congress leaders reviewed their political strategy and the INDIA bloc’s next course of action amid the ongoing dispute with the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
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Kumar’s Alliance Switches
Kumar’s political association with the Congress and other Opposition parties has changed several times over the past decade.
In 2015, he returned to power in Bihar as part of the Mahagathbandhan with the RJD and Congress. The alliance defeated the BJP-led NDA in the Bihar Assembly election.
The arrangement did not last long. In 2017, Kumar left the alliance and returned to the NDA.
In August 2022, he again ended his association with the BJP and formed a government with the RJD, Congress and Left parties. Kumar became chief minister for the eighth time, with Tejashwi Yadav serving as his deputy.
His next major political shift came on January 28, 2024. Kumar resigned as chief minister, ended the Mahagathbandhan government and returned to the BJP-led NDA.
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Why Nitish Kumar Left
Kumar had played a significant role in bringing Opposition parties together before the INDIA bloc was formally established. However, differences emerged over the functioning and leadership of the alliance.
Reports at the time said Kumar was unhappy with delays in seat-sharing arrangements and the lack of a decision on appointing him as the coalition’s convenor. There was also speculation that he was dissatisfied with the role played by the Congress within the alliance.
The situation further changed after TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal proposed Mallikarjun Kharge as the chairman of the INDIA bloc and as a possible prime ministerial face for the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
Kumar subsequently walked out of the alliance and returned to the NDA, further straining coordination among the Opposition parties ahead of the general election.
Kumar’s Explanation
Kumar later offered his own explanation for leaving the INDIA bloc, saying he had invested considerable effort in bringing Opposition parties together but felt the alliance was not progressing as expected.
“I was hurt. I left the INDIA alliance. I have been working hard to make a successful, meaningful (INDIA) alliance, but no one else (in the alliance) has been doing anything… I was making an all-out effort to make the INDIA bloc running, but I received no response. People are not happy,” Nitish Kumar had said.
He also spoke about his efforts to bring different parties together and the lack of progress after the alliance was formed.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: abplive.com
