A discussion over former Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar reportedly led to a sharp exchange during a Congress Working Committee meeting, with Sonia Gandhi disagreeing with senior party leader Digvijaya Singh's assessment of the INDIA bloc's 2024 developments.
According to sources cited by NDTV, the CWC meeting was discussing the Congress's strategy on issues involving Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the BJP when Digvijaya Singh raised the subject of Nitish Kumar's exit from the opposition alliance.
Singh reportedly said that the political situation could have been different if the INDIA alliance had not allowed Nitish Kumar to leave in 2024. Nitish Kumar, then leading the Bihar Mahagathbandhan government, left the alliance on January 28, 2024, resigned as chief minister and returned to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
Sonia Gandhi reportedly disagreed with Singh's assessment. According to sources present at the meeting, she said that Kumar was going to leave the INDIA bloc anyway and suggested that his departure had been anticipated.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge reportedly supported Sonia Gandhi's view. Kharge said Nitish Kumar had been looking for a way out of the alliance and referred to his earlier interest in becoming the coalition's convenor.
Nitish Kumar had emerged as one of the important figures in bringing several opposition parties together to form the INDIA bloc. However, disagreements over the alliance's internal structure and seat-sharing arrangements reportedly contributed to tensions before the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
There were also reports at the time that Kumar was unhappy over the delay in deciding the alliance's convenor and other organisational issues. His eventual return to the NDA significantly changed the political equations in Bihar ahead of the general election.
After leaving the INDIA bloc, Kumar had said that efforts to make the opposition alliance function effectively had not produced the desired results. He also said that other parties were not responding adequately to his attempts to strengthen the grouping.
The latest discussion within the Congress comes as opposition parties are again coordinating on issues concerning the Election Commission. The CWC meeting reportedly focused on the party's strategy and broader political challenges facing the Congress.
The exchange over Nitish Kumar also highlights the differing views within the Congress leadership about the opposition alliance's experience before the 2024 election and the circumstances surrounding Kumar's departure.
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