Sonia Gandhi Rebuts Digvijaya Singh’s Nitish Kumar Remark
Sources say Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh raised Nitish Kumar’s 2024 exit from INDIA bloc, prompting a sharp response from Sonia Gandhi
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 30th Sept: A discussion over the Congress-led opposition strategy at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Tuesday reportedly turned to the 2024 exit of JD(U) leader and then Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar from the INDIA bloc, with senior leader Digvijaya Singh suggesting that the opposition alliance might have been in a different position had Kumar remained with it.
According to sources cited in the report, Singh said during the meeting that the INDIA bloc should not have allowed Kumar to leave in 2024 and that the political situation could have been different.
The observation reportedly drew a sharp response from Sonia Gandhi, who said Kumar was likely to leave the alliance regardless and that his departure came after he had been seeking a way out of the opposition grouping.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is also reported to have supported Sonia Gandhi’s assessment, saying Kumar had previously expressed a desire to remain active in Bihar politics while supporting the INDIA bloc at the national level.
The reported exchange came as the CWC met to discuss the Congress’s strategy on the Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, as well as coordination with opposition parties. The meeting was held amid an intensifying Congress campaign over electoral-roll revisions and alleged irregularities in the poll process.
Nitish Kumar quit INDIA bloc in January 2024
Nitish Kumar resigned as Bihar Chief Minister on January 28, 2024, ending the Mahagathbandhan government and returning to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Kumar had been among the prominent leaders involved in bringing opposition parties together for the formation of the INDIA bloc in 2023. At the time, there were differences within the alliance over its organisational structure, leadership roles and seat-sharing arrangements.
Before his exit, Kumar had publicly said that he did not seek a formal post in the INDIA alliance and wanted to focus on bringing opposition parties together. In August 2023, he had said he wanted to unite the opposition and was not seeking a position in the alliance.
Questions over INDIA bloc leadership
The question of who would coordinate or lead the opposition alliance had emerged as an issue during the months preceding Kumar’s departure.
The alliance subsequently moved through a series of organisational discussions, while seat-sharing negotiations for the 2024 Lok Sabha election remained a challenge among its constituent parties.
Kumar eventually returned to the NDA on January 28, 2024, and was sworn in again as Bihar Chief Minister after resigning from the Mahagathbandhan government.
CWC focuses on Election Commission row
The discussion about Kumar took place against the backdrop of the Congress’s current confrontation with the Election Commission.
At Tuesday’s CWC meeting, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called for the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and CEC Gyanesh Kumar, while the party also demanded changes related to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. These are positions and allegations advanced by the Congress.
The Congress has alleged irregularities in electoral-roll revisions and questioned the functioning of the Election Commission. The Election Commission’s functioning and the legality of the SIR process are also currently the subject of legal proceedings, with the Supreme Court agreeing to hear a petition challenging aspects of the process and the CEC’s functioning.
The CWC meeting also discussed the broader opposition strategy, with the INDIA bloc scheduled to meet in Delhi to consider further political action on the electoral-roll issue.
