New Delhi/IBNS: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday signalled a big shift in the stance of the party's policy to form a coalition with the opposition ahead of the 2024 general elections after the just-concluded plenary session in Raipur.

"We are not naming a PM candidate. We are not telling who will lead. We want to fight together," Kharge said in his address at the birthday celebrations of ally MK Stalin in Chennai. 

"All like-minded opposition parties must come together in this fight against divisive forces. We should continue to strengthen our alliance ahead of 2024 polls," he added.

In earlier instances, as in the run-up to the 2019 general elections, the Congress had made it clear that it should lead the alliance.

It had upset key opposition leaders, especially the ones with Prime Ministerial ambitions. Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Telangana counterpart K Chandrashekar Rao are two cases in point.

This time, with the 2024 elections round the corner and with other alliance partners like Nitish Kumar asking it to take the lead, the Congress passed a resolution on Saturday, the final day of the plenary session in Raipur.

In the resolution, the Congress had called for the unity of secular and socialist forces, but remained silent on taking the lead.