The INDIA bloc is having a debate going on about the alliance leadership. Last week, after the remarks of West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on the leadership question in the INDI Alliance and proposing herself for the role, the politics soared among the leaders of the alliance. Although the Congress party called it a “good joke,” leaders from other parties of the alliance are agreeing with Mamta’s proposal and calling her a good alternative.
INDIA parties’ response: –
The praise comes from a range of politicians, including Lalu Prasad of RJD. He said when asked about the situation, “Theek hai, de dena chaahiye. Hum sehmat hain”.
NCP-SP’s Sharad Pawar, who supported the claim, said, “She is a capable leader… and has the right to say it. The MPs she has sent to Parliament are hardworking and aware”.
Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut also said that the alliance should be open to discussions and, “If someone wants to say something new and wants to strengthen the alliance, then it should be considered.”.
The Samajwadi Party, the second-largest party of the alliance, is at the moment staying neutral but playing the part of an evaluator of the situation and questioning the leadership of Congress, claiming that the current situation is due to the sluggish performance of the Congress Party in recent state assembly elections.
Deadlock among INDIA: –
Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav had said, reacting to calls for change in INDIA bloc leadership, “The Congress is in power in Himachal Pradesh; in the Lok Sabha elections, they lost all four seats (in the state). The Congress is in power in Karnataka and Telangana… they lost half the seats. They didn’t win a single Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. So, it is possible that there may be talk that there should be a leadership change. But I don’t want to get into it. The INDIA bloc is there; it should be there. Without an alliance, the BJP cannot be defeated.”
Trinamool Congress party leaders, however, directly targeted the Congress and suggested it leave “its ego.”
Why a shift from Congress:
Mamta emerged as a strong leader in West Bengal, defeating the BJP in elections after elections, while Congress even struggled to maintain its position. The recent assembly results also put a question on Congress’s leadership, which gained some confidence after a 99-seat victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Aam Aadmi Party’s move to declare its independence from the INDI Alliance in the upcoming Delhi elections is also pointing at the multiple fronts at which the alliance is fighting.
With Bihar elections also set to take place next year, the leadership question can also work out as checks and balances for the alliance, the purpose being that power does not shift to one party.
