Days after the recent proposals by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal, suggesting Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as the Prime Ministerial candidate for the INDIA bloc, Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar stated that projecting a face for the top post holds no significance.
Pawar's statement comes amid the suspense over the Prime Ministerial candidate face of the INDIA bloc for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Recalling the 1977 elections, Sharad Pawar remarked, "In the 1977 elections, no face was projected for PM. Later, Morarji Desai was elected for the Prime Ministerial post. Desai's name was nowhere before the elections, and in fact, a new party came into existence. Hence, there are no consequences if a face is not projected. If people are in the mood for change, they will take a call to bring about that change."
Morarji Desai, the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India, held office for 856 days, leading the post-emergency government led by the Janata Party from 1977 to 1979.
As the 2024 Lok Sabha elections approach, the battle lines are being drawn between the BJP-led NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc. While Modi remains the face of the BJP, the opposition is yet to finalise a PM candidate.
In the recent fourth meeting of the INDIA bloc, prominent leaders Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal endorsed Congress party President Mallikarjun Kharge as the potential PM face. However, news reports suggest dissent, with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav reportedly opposing his candidacy.
INDIA Bloc
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A), led by the Indian National Congress, is a coalition of 26 political parties in India formed to challenge the ruling National Democratic Alliance, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, in the upcoming 2024 Indian general elections.
Despite the alliance's aim to present a strong front, recent setbacks for the Congress in three heartland polls have heightened political tensions.
Besides Congress, the other main opposition parties that form INDIA are the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which governs the West Bengal state; the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which is in power in the southern Tamil Nadu state; and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which rules in Delhi and Punjab.
