Sparks of rebellion have been reportedly uncovered in the Opposition INDI-Alliance with a Samajwadi Party leader demanding Rahul Gandhi step down to let Akhilesh Yadav take over the reins of the grouping. The Bihar Assembly elections debacle yet again exposed the weakness of the Indian National Congress, and Akhilesh Yadav is the right person to lead the alliance, which had made a remarkable comeback in the 2024 general elections.
It was the legislator from Lucknow Central seat Ravidas Mehrotra who had reportedly fired the first shot demanding a leadership change in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance. He said that as things stand, the Samajwadi Party is capable of forming a government on its own in Uttar Pradesh, which is one of the most politically significant states in the country. Under Akhilesh's leadership, the party had won 37 Lok Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh in 2024, landing a critical blow to the BJP-led NDA.
Ravidas Mehrotra pointed out that Akhilesh Yadav has long been advocating the need to go back to ballot papers from EVMs, Jansatta said in a report. Despite winning 99 seats in last year’s Lok Sabha elections, the main opposition party has returned to the trend of performing poorly in the subsequent assembly elections. The BJP and its allies won six out of eight assembly elections held last year, including key contests in Haryana and Maharashtra. Rahul Gandhi has been criticised for not being available entirely and "going missing" while the country is at political crossroads. His press meets exposing 'Vote Chori' need to be followed up legally and on the ground, but Rahul Gandhi has been unavailable during crucial junctures, critics have pointed out.
Earlier, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee had suggested that party chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should lead the INDIA bloc instead of the Congress, Jansatta said in a report. “Who is the leader in the INDIA alliance? No one has been chosen as the leader or the face of the opposition. This must be decided now. The Congress has failed — this is already clear. Congress leaders tried in Haryana but failed. They also failed in Maharashtra. We placed our faith in the Congress, but it could not deliver results,” it quoted him as saying.
RJD patriarch and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had also backed Mamata to take over the leadership of the INDIA bloc. When asked last year about Congress leaders hesitating to accept Mamata Banerjee as the leader of the alliance, the RJD founder said that the Congress’s opposition would not matter and that she should be allowed to lead the INDIA bloc.
Meanwhile, Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday backed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegations of vote theft in favour of the BJP. During an interaction with reporters here, he said it was not just 'Vote chori' but 'dacoity'. "It's not chori. Chori is a small theft. It's a dacoity. Openly done," Yadav said.
On the Bihar Assembly election results, Yadav said he has not done booth-level analysis yet, but he has seen the results.
"RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav is a popular face, and the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) was with a positive vision. Our vision is positive, while the opposite side's vision is division," the former UP Chief Minister said.
