Bihar CM Nitish Kumar rejects post of convenor of INDIA bloc, say sources

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Lok Sabha polls, participation in Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and other matters related to the alliance. ALSO READ: Surya Uttarayan, solo quests and 'respectable' seat-sharing: INDIA bloc struggles to agree as Lok Sabha Polls near Meanwhile, Congress Leader Mallikarjun Kharge was named INDIA bloc chief NDTV reported on Saturday. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK leader MK Stalin and party leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi attended the meeting via video conferencing.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was absent as she was attending a pre-decided state program. In its last meeting of the INDIA bloc, Mamata Banerjee and SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav had proposed the name of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge as the Prime Ministerial candidate. However, news agency PTI had reported that no final decision had been taken yet on the INDIA bloc PM face.

According to the report, Kharge is of the view that “winning first is important". He had said, "I work for the downtrodden. Let's win first, then we will see.

I don't seek anything." Besides, parallel meeting are being held, with the Congress' alliance committee taking the lead in consulting with various parties of the INDIA bloc on state level alliances. On Friday there was a meeting of Congress and Aam Aadmi Party leaders regarding seat sharing. The seat-sharing talks are on in many states, including West Bengal, Punjab, Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and Haryana.