I.N.D.I.A. bloc must address leadership issue: Shiv Sena (UBT) targets Congress

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Wednesday said the question of leadership change in the Opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc has resurfaced and can't be ignored, asserting that it has to be seen who will helm the alliance, in an apparent dig at the Congress.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party referred to voices from disgruntled Congress members and those associated with the UPA dispensation, who suggested that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc leadership should be given to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee or Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin.

"The decision has to be taken on Mamata, Stalin or someone else," an editorial in the Sena (UBT) mouthpiece 'Saamana' said.

Instead of waking up when elections are announced and talking about the Opposition alliance, it is necessary to hold discussions among its partners and take decisions consciously, it opined.

The Congress has been helming the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, a coalition of Opposition parties formed before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to counter the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

"The issue of change in the leadership of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc has again come to the fore. What happened to the India bloc after the Lok Sabha polls? This question is before many. But has this question come to Congress's mind?" the editorial in 'Saamana' asked.

In West Bengal, the Congress is fighting against the Trinamool Congress (led by Banerjee). In Kerala, the Congress is against the Left. In Maharashtra, the Congress chose to contest independently in the recent civic body polls, which benefited the BJP, it noted.

"The question is as much of the nation as it is of the political discourse. Whenever elections are announced, the I.N.D.I.A. bloc may surely wake up and hold talks. But taking a conscious decision by sitting together is wiser," it suggested.

"The decision has to be taken on Mamata, Stalin or someone else," the Marathi publication added.

Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, has taken a good stand that he remains unbothered if he is "thrown out of Parliament" or cases are foisted on him by the government, which is good and reflects his fighting spirit, it said.

But workers become lethargic if they stay away from power and lose the hunger to come to power, the editorial said.

Even if the BJP did not get a majority (referring to the 2024 Lok Sabha poll results) and its government at the Centre survives on crutches, its "arrogance" has not ended, the Sena (UBT) claimed.

This is not the first time that the Sena (UBT) has expressed disappointment with the Congress.

Responding to a question by PTI in an interview last month on whether the I.N.D.I.A. bloc exists, Thackeray said, "Probe a bit and check whether the I.N.D.I.A. bloc is there or not. This is right that we met only once after Parliament polls at Rahul ji's (Gandhi) residence."