Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's name has been proposed as the INDIA bloc's PM face at the alliance's meeting in New Delhi on 19 December. According to reports, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal proposed Kharge's name.
However, speaking to the media after the meeting, Kharge said that the "priority is to win first" and the "PM issue can be decided after the elections" as well.
This is an important development. In this piece we will discuss why Kharge may be the best option to be the INDIA bloc's PM face but we will also give a few caveats.
1. Leader of the Largest Constituent
The Congress is the largest constituent of the INDIA bloc. In around 150 seats, the Congress is the main challenger to the BJP. The prospects of the entire alliance hugely depend on the Congress.
The alliance would be coherent only if the leader of the largest party is its PM face. Otherwise, it would have been an unstable coalition like the United Front led by HD Deve Gowda and IK Gujral, supported by Congress from the outside.
2. Acceptability
Kharge is more acceptable than any other leader in the alliance, with the possible exception of Sharad Pawar. From the point of view of non-Congress parties, he is also the most acceptable face from within the Congress.
Rahul Gandhi is, no doubt, the most popular leader in the Congress. But his acceptability among INDIA bloc constituents is doubtful. He shares a good equation with leaders like Stalin, Lalu Prasad, Hemant Soren and leaders of Left parties but the same can't be said about Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee.
Both Kejriwal and Banerjee have Prime Ministerial ambitions. Both also have age on their side, as does Rahul Gandhi. If they unite under Kharge now and try to defeat the BJP, they may keep their hopes for a future PM pitch alive.
Insiders in INDIA bloc parties admit that Kharge has always been reasonable in interactions. For instance, the Aam Aadmi Party has openly expressed its gratitude for how Kharge overruled his own party's Delhi and Punjab units and supported it on the NCT legislation.
3. Dalit Background
Kharge's rise is inspiring - he is from a Dalit family in Karnataka's Bidar. His mother and sister were killed in a fire set of by Razakars when he was just 7. He has risen from student politics and trade union politics to become a nine-term MLA, a two-term MP, a state and central minister and finally the president of India's oldest political party.
He is a follower of Babasaheb Ambedkar and has a good equation among Ambedkarite organisations.
If he does become PM, he would be the first Dalit to occupy the office in India's history.
4. Multi-Lingual
Besides his mother tongue Kannada, Kharge is fluent in Hindi, Urdu, Marathi and Telugu. Being from Karnataka is an important factor because it is a crucial swing state in the 2024 elections. In 2019, the BJP won 25 out of 28 seats in Karnataka while an Independent supported by it won in one seat. The Congress and its then ally JD-S could manage just one seat each.
Under Kharge, the Congress has already won a huge victory in the Assembly elections earlier in 2023. It would hope to gain at least 15 seats from his home state in the Lok Sabha elections. However, this is easier said than done as BJP has traditionally held an advantage in Karnataka at the Lok Sabha level irrespective of its fortunes at the Assembly level.
5. 24/7 Politician
Kharge is known to be a relentless, 24/7 politician. The Gandhi family was often accused of being unapproachable as Congress presidents. Kharge is changing that image.
6. Ideology
Kharge comes with a clear ideological foundation, combining Nehruvian and Ambedkarite politics. If communicated properly, this could be a good counter to BJP's Hindutva.
But There a Few Caveats
1. The PM question can't be left for later
Kharge may have said "let us win first, the PM issue can be decided later". But national campaigns have increasingly become presidential whether one likes it or not. It becomes easier to design campaigns, prepare publicity material around a clear face. If the PM issue is left ambiguous, the "Modi vs Who?" question will keep coming up and the BJP would get a chance to present the INDIA bloc as an alliance with a dozen PM aspirants.
2. Hindi Heartland
Though Kharge is fluent in Hindi, he is not known in the Hindi heartland. This will have to be addressed through an extensive outreach. Another step could be to declare a Deputy PM candidate from one of the Hindi speaking states. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar would be a good option. He belongs to the OBC Kurmi community, that is present in significant numbers in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
He is also the face of the main pitch of the INDIA bloc: the socio-economic caste census. Kumar has successfully built a coalition of non-dominant OBCs and non-dominant SCs in Bihar and has been a master at social engineering.
This would also help balance the power dynamic between the Congress and other INDIA constituents.
3. Youth Factor
Kharge is 81 years old and this may hamper the INDIA bloc's outreach among first time and younger voters. It would strengthen the BJP's charge the Congress is not in tune with India's youth. The INDIA bloc will need to take extra efforts to project its younger leadership as part of its overall 'national team' - leaders like Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Raghav Chadha, Abhishek Banerjee, Sachin Pilot among others.
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