New Delhi: Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said that party president Rahul Gandhi would find “automatic” acceptance in the opposition ranks sooner than later. This will happen while uniting non-BJP forces in the run-up to the 2019 parliamentary election.

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?

“When Rahul Gandhi is working, everyone is praising his work. Acceptability is there. Because of this, there will be automatic acceptance (of Rahul Gandhi’s leadership) today or tomorrow,” Kharge said, when asked if the Gandhi family scion will find acceptability among the larger opposition camp.

Asked who will lead the opposition in the 2019 parliamentary election, he said it would be decided after the election but the primary purpose now was to unite everyone to oust the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi from power.

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.”

The veteran Congressman also said people’s support for Gandhi would translate into his larger political support among opposition ranks as well.