New Delhi: 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, who has won twice from the Gulbarga constituency in Karnataka and faced defeat in the 2019 elections, currently serves as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
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 years 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.
"It is wrong that we are backing out. I am 83 years old, you (journalists) retire at 65. So I am 83," Kharge said. "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 added.
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 mentioned that his party has initiated the process of drafting 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 legalize it. This is also our guarantee.”