Congress has 'unique position' in Oppn ranks, leader of anti-BJP bloc will emerge in due course: P Chidambaram

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

P Chidambaram on Sunday exuded confidence that the Opposition, by staying united, can certainly challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and asserted that the leader of the anti-BJP bloc will emerge in «due course». In an interview with PTI, Chidambaram said the Congress has a «unique position» in the ranks of the opposition parties but there was «no need to talk about it now».

The former Union minister also said that the manner in which the AAP formulated and posed the Delhi ordinance issue at the Patna meeting of the opposition parties was «unfortunate». Each issue will be decided on its own merits and at the appropriate time and place, he said.

Chidambaram stressed that the Opposition parties have several objectives in common as they are opposed to the social and economic policies of the BJP government, are concerned about slow economic growth, high inflation and rising unemployment, as well as about the «curtailment of civil liberties, the gagging of the media, the emasculation of institutions, and the misuse of investigating agencies». «They are concerned about the security situation on the borders.

These common concerns have brought them together to oppose the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. There is enough justification for the Opposition parties to meet as often as possible in the run up to the elections,» he said.

The forthcoming meeting at Bengaluru will certainly be purposeful, Chidambaram said and added that «we must wait and see what the next steps will be». Asked about the Opposition having sidestepped the leadership question for now and whether going to polls without a PM face face would work when Modi has been at the helm for 10 years, Chidambaram said, «That Mr Narendra