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Kharge abides by 'one person, one post' formula, resigns as Rajya Sabha LoP
Kharge became the Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House in February 2021 after the retirement of Ghulam Nabi Azad.
On the lines of Udaipur declaration of ‘one person, one post’, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge tendered his resignation as Leader of Opposition in the Upper House as he filed nomination papers for the party chief post.
“I hereby tender my resignation from the post of Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha, consequent upon my filing of nomination for the post of President, All India Congress Committee,” Kharge said in his letter to interim party president Sonia Gandhi.
Kharge became the Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House in February 2021 after the retirement of Ghulam Nabi Azad. The Congress may have to find a new LoP in the Rajya Sabha if Kharge, touted as the front-runner, is elected as the party president.
While the selection process for Kharge’s successor will start only after the declaration of the result, party leaders indicated that Digivjaya Singh, Mukul Wasnik or Ranjit Ranjan may be the possible candidates.
According to party insiders, Singh, who opted out of the race to support Kharge, might emerge as a possible successor to Kharge. “He doesn’t hold any organisational position and a leader from the Hindi belt can also act like a balancing factor,” said a leader, adding that senior party leader Mukul Wasnik may also be considered . Among women leaders, Ranjit Ranjan, a fierce orator from Bihar, or Gujarat’s former leader of the Opposition Shakti Sinh Gohil could also be considered, said a Congress leader from Rajya Sabha.
The Udaipur Chintan Shivir in April 2022 resolution had asked for the implementation of the policy at all levels of the party.
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot opted out of the race for Congress president after the ‘one person, one post’ formula, firmly pitched by Rahul Gandhi last week, led to a rebellion in the party’s state unit. A majority of Congress MLAs in Rajasthan held a parallel meeting and didn't allow a legislature party meeting to pass a one-line resolution authorising the party chief to nominate a successor to Gehlot.
