The heads of 14 political parties of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc will hold a virtual meeting on Saturday to decide who will be the convener of the coalition. Since the formation of the bloc, the Janata Dal (United) has been asking to make Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the convener, The Indian Express reported, citing sources.

The meeting is likely to see the participation of Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shiv Sena (UBT), Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool Congress (TMC), DMK, RJD, CPI, JMM, National Conference, PDP, JD(U), Samajwadi Party, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

The Congress is not keen on heading the alliance, as it is aware that some of the regional parties are not for it. However, the party willing to accept Nitish Kumar as the convener, if the allied partners of the coalition agree, sources told IE.

The JD-U is of the view that Mallikarjun Kharge be appointed as the chairperson of the alliance and Kumar be the convener, so that there is a North-South representation.

Reportedly, the JD-U has reached out to several leaders of the INDIA bloc in the last two weeks to seek support for the proposal.

Moreover, Kharge’s remarks on January 6 that the alliance would meet in “10-15 days” to make decisions about several key posts have also ruffled feathers. Speaking to IE, JD-U chief national spokesperson KC Tyagi said that the Congress must show urgency as it is “running out of time and ideas”.

On July 18, a total of 28 parties came together and formed a coalition naming it ‘INDIA’ to take on the ruling BJP-led NDA in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.