Amid efforts to unite non-BJP forces in the run-up to the 2019 parliamentary election, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said Sunday that party president Rahul Gandhi would find "automatic" acceptance in the opposition ranks sooner than later.
In an exclusive interview to PTI, the Congress veteran said the people of India were looking up to Gandhi to dislodge the BJP and his acceptance among the opposition leaders would ultimately materialise, today or tomorrow.
To drive his point home, Kharge, a former union minister, asked which opposition leader, save Gandhi, had pan-India acceptance -- from Puducherry to Jammu and Kashmir?
Referring to Gandhi's assertion that the 2019 Lok Sabha election would be an ideological fight to dislodge the BJP first, Kharge said, "We want to take the lead in dislodging the BJP. Our leader Rahul Gandhi is naturally leading this fight. We want everyone's support in this. We want everyone's cooperation. Everyone is coming together. Everything will get sorted before the election."