WILL DIGVIJAYA BE THE LEADER OF OPPOSITION OR THE GENERAL SECRETARY OF PARTY ORGANIZATION?

New Delhi: Mallikarjun Kharge is set to be the Congress president. He has resigned from the post of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha with his nomination for the post of party president and with this, speculation has intensified as to who will be the new Leader of Opposition. Kharge was the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha for one and a half years. Before him, Ghulam Nabi Azad was the Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House for seven years. Kharge became the leader after Azad retired from the Rajya Sabha. Now a new leader has to be appointed in his place. It is generally believed that Digvijaya Singh will be made the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. He came within reach of becoming the party president. Rahul Gandhi had sent him to Delhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra and he had also taken the nomination papers. But at the last moment, Kharge's name was forwarded by the party.

Only then it is being said that Digvijaya Singh will get the post of LoP in the Upper House. Apart from him, P Chidambaram is also being said to be a contender for the post of LoP. The names of Pramod Tiwari, Mukul Wasnik and Jairam Ramesh are also discussed. But the trouble with Chidambaram is that he is from South India. With Kharge's elevation, both, the National President and Organization General Secretary, would be from South India. The post of leader in the Lok Sabha is held by Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of West Bengal. In such a situation, it will be necessary to give representation to North India somewhere. In this sense, only a North Indian leader will get the post of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha. In this respect, Digvijaya's claim is strong. But it is also possible that he may get a higher position in the organization. It will be difficult for KC Venugopal to remain as organizational general secretary after Kharge becomes the president. If Digvijay becomes the General Secretary of the organization in his place, then it will be better for the party.