Mallikarjun Kharge rejects reports of leaders’ reluctance to contest

March 12, 2024 10:27 pm | Updated 10:40 pm IST - New Delhi

Rejecting reports that Congress veterans were shying away from contesting the Lok Sabha polls, party president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said that if workers asked him to contest he may do so.

Mr. Kharge, however, told The Hindu subsequently that he is unlikely to contest given his age and responsibilities as party president. The Congress chief has been a Lok Sabha member from Karnataka’s Gulbarga seat since 2009 but lost the seat in 2019.

During a press conference to announce the party’s six guarantees for tribals (Adivasi Sankalp), Mr. Kharge was asked about reports that senior leaders were opting out of contesting the Lok Sabha polls.

“It is wrong that we are backing out. I am 83 years old; you (journalists) retire at 65. Everyone goes and tells our party workers (that I should fight). If the workers say, then I will definitely fight. Look, sometimes we are in the rear, sometimes at the forefront. We also have a list of ten people asking for the same seat,” Mr. Kharge told reporters.

On another question about comparisons between Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guarantee and that offered by his party, Mr. Kharge said: “They stole our guarantee... Modi Sahib is stealing our guarantee and saying ‘this is our guarantee’... We started in Karnataka, won the elections, later we did it in Telangana”.