01 January,2024 01:54 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Sanjay Raut. File Pic
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday said no meeting has been held for the appointment of a convener or chairperson of the opposition I-N-D-I-A bloc, reported the PTI.
According to the PTI, with little time left for the Lok Sabha polls, the opposition I-N-D-I-A bloc parties met on December 19, 2023 and decided to finalise seat-sharing as soon as possible.
At the meeting, some leaders also proposed Mallikarjun Kharge's name as the prime ministerial face of the coalition, but the Congress chief said it is important to win first and the leadership issue can then be decided "democratically".
Asked if JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would be the face of the opposition alliance, Sanjay Raut on Monday told reporters, "No meeting of I-N-D-I-A bloc has taken place recently. Even during the last meeting in Delhi, no such proposal came up in the I-N-D-I-A bloc meeting, " as per the PTI.
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Sanjay Raut said that Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has expressed the need to have a "face of the opposition bloc".
"Uddhav Thackeray said in the I-N-D-I-A bloc meeting in Delhi that we need to bring a face to the forefront. It will be a unanimously chosen senior leader who will work as the convener or chairperson of this alliance," the Rajya Sabha member said, a PTI news report said on Monday.
Last month, an editorial in the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece 'Saamana' suggested that a 'sarthi' (charioteer) be appointed to steer the opposition alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The Marathi daily had also advised the Congress to take all allies together if it wants to strengthen the opposition I-N-D-I-A bloc.
Meanwhile, on speculations of former MP Prakash Ambedkar joining the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), Sanjay Raut said that talks are underway and a decision will be taken when the proposal comes forward, the ANI reported on Monday.
"The Congress Party and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have also invited Prakash Ambedkar to the Maha Vikas Aghadi and they have asked Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray to talk to him," he said, as per the ANI.
(with PTI and ANI inputs)
