Mani Shankar Aiyar said Congress will continue to be a major force in the Indian bloc
The Congress needs to be prepared not to take the lead in India’s opposition alliance, veteran party leader and former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said in an interview with The Indian Express. When asked if another party could lead the Indian bloc, Aiyar said, “I don’t think that’s the right question. I think the Congress should be prepared not to be the leader of the Indian bloc. Anyone who wants to be the leader. Let anyone be.” Mamata Banerjee, the leader, has the capacity…other members of the alliance also have the capacity. ”
“So I don’t care who becomes the party leader, because I think the position of the National Congress party and the parliamentary leadership is always an important one. It doesn’t have to be the only one. It doesn’t have to be the only one. “I’m sure Rahul (Gandhi) will be treated with even more respect in India than he was as an alliance president,” said the 83-year-old, who has published the second volume of his autobiography. said. Maverick politics.
The senior Congress leader’s comments come in the backdrop of leadership infighting within the opposition bloc formed last year to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party’s formidable electoral machinery. The grand alliance strategy worked well in the Lok Sabha elections, restricting the ruling BJP to below the majority mark. But this partnership has proven difficult in a region where India’s two partners are electoral rivals. This has prompted attacks from the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has called its members “opportunistic”.
The Congress, which won twice the votes this time in the assembly elections, has since suffered setbacks in polls in Haryana and Maharashtra. Immediately after the Maharashtra results, Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made a veiled criticism of the Grand Old Party. She said “everyone needs to come along” as the opposition coalition moves against the Bharatiya Janata Party-controlled central government. Asked why she is not taking charge, Banerjee said, “If I get a chance, I will make sure that this facility functions smoothly. I don’t want to go outside Bengal, but I want to run it from here. I can do it,” he said.
Veteran opposition leaders Lalu Prasad Yadav and Sharad Pawar threw their weight behind Banerjee.
“Congress’s opposition means nothing. We support Mamata…Mamata Banerjee should be given leadership (of the Indian bloc),” the RJD founder said.
NCP founder Sharad Pawar said, “Certainly (she is capable of leading the alliance). She is a prominent leader of this country… She is capable of doing so. The selection she has sent to the Congress These leaders are responsible, loyal, and good.” Therefore, she has the right to say so. ”
Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut had said that Mamata Banerjee should be a key partner in the Indian alliance. “We are aware of this opinion of Mamata Ji. We also want her to become a key partner in the Indian alliance. Whether it is Mamata Banerjee or Arvind Kejriwal. Be it Shiv Sena or Shiv Sena, we are all together,” he said.
