"Making Him Chairperson Good Sign": AAP Minister Congratulates Mallikarjun Kharge

Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Sunday congratulated Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge for being named as the "chairperson" of the opposition's INDIA bloc.

The Delhi Minister said that Mr Kharge is a big leader and all alliance partners respect him and listen to him. Making him the chairperson is a good sign, he added.

On the INDIA Bloc choosing Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge as chairperson, he said, "Greetings to him for it. He is a big leader. From childhood till now, he has spent his life with a lot of struggle. His personal life story is full of struggles. He has been a Dalit leader. All alliance partners respect him and listen to him. Making him the chairperson is a good sign," Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj told news agency ANI.

Congress has formed a committee; people like Salman Kurshid, Ashok Ghelot, and Bhupesh Baghel are in it and leaders of our party are in talks with them... It is the belief of both parties that the first aim is to strengthen the INDIA alliance.

On Saturday, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar, after attending the virtual meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), said that all the members of the bloc agreed to the proposal that the alliance should be headed by Mallikarjun Kharge.

"A meeting of the INDIA bloc was held under the chairmanship of Mallikarjun Kharge. We had a discussion that we will all take a decision on seat sharing as soon as possible. It was suggested by some that the alliance should be headed by Mallikarjun Kharge and everyone agreed. We also formed a committee to make plans in the coming days. Everyone suggested that Nitish Kumar should take responsibility as the convenor, but his opinion is that the one who is already in charge should continue," Mr Pawar said.

INDIA or 'Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance', is a group of opposition parties, including the Congress.

The parties have come together to take on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and prevent it from winning a third straight term at the Centre in the Lok Sabha elections due in April-May.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)