Lok Sabha elections: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has indicated that he might not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, citing his age as a factor influencing this decision. Kharge was the MP from Karnataka's Gulbarga from 2009-2014 and had lost from the same seat in 2019.
Kharge made the remarks while speaking to mediapersons at a press conference at his residence in New Delhi.
When asked if senior party leaders are shying away from contesting the Lok Sabha polls, Kharge said that he is 83-year-old indicating that he may not enter the poll fray this time. However, he said that if workers ask him to fight the elections he may do so.
'I am 83'
Asked about reports that senior leaders were opting out of contesting the Lok Sabha polls, Kharge said, "It is wrong that we are backing out. I am 83-year-old, you (journalists) retire at 65. So I am 83."
"If given a chance, everyone goes and tells our party workers (that I should fight) if they say then I will definitely fight. Look, sometimes we are at the back, sometimes we are at the forefront, we also have a list of ten people asking for the same seat," he said.
'BJP stole our guarantee'
On another question about the comparison between Modi's guarantee and that of the Congress, Kharge accused the BJP of stealing their ideas. "They stole our guarantee. We started in Karnataka, won the elections, later we did it in Telangana. Modi Saheb is stealing our guarantee and saying 'this is our guarantee'," the Congress chief said.
Kharge also said that his party has started the process of making draft rules for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) that will be implemented once they come to power.
“The guarantee is for MSP. We announced MSP for farmers. We are also making a law to ensure MSP guarantees for their crops, we will legalise it. This is also our guarantee.”
(With PTI inputs)
