Indicating that they will adhere to a policy of treating the two parties equally, three significant opposition parties in the centre have agreed to maintain a distance from both the Congress and the BJP. This was decided after Akhilesh Yadav, the chief of the Samajwadi Party, met Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Friday.
Next week, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will meet with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who leads the Biju Janata Dal.
The strategy is intended to counter the BJP’s attempt to portray Congress MP Rahul Gandhi as the key leader of a coalition of opposition parties. The BJP has been attempting to persuade Mr Gandhi to apologise for claiming that opposition leaders’ microphones are muted in India’s parliament during a recent speech in London. Other opposition parties now suspect the BJP is using Mr Gandhi to target them.
“Rahul Gandhi made remarks internationally and BJP will not let parliament function till he apologises. This implies that they do not want parliament to function through Congress. The BJP wants Rahul Gandhi to be the face of the opposition in order to benefit the BJP. “There is no need to choose a prime ministerial candidate (for the 2024 election),” said Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay.
Mr Bandyopadhyay stated that believing Congress is the “big boss” of the opposition is a fallacy.
“On March 23, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will meet with Naveen Patnaik. We will discuss this with other opposition parties (plan to maintain equidistance from BJP and Congress). “We are not claiming a third front, but regional parties have the capacity to challenge the BJP,” Mr Bandyopadhyay said.
Akhilesh Yadav has stated that they intend to maintain a neutral stance towards both Congress and the BJP.
“In Bengal, we are with Mamata Didi. “Right now, our position is that we want to maintain a neutral position between the BJP and the Congress,” Mr Yadav told reporters in Kolkata. “Those who get the ‘BJP vaccine’ are not bothered by the CBI, ED, or I-T,” he said, referring to former opposition party leaders who had cases dropped by central investigation agencies after joining the BJP.
Mr Yadav also alluded to several opposition party leaders being allegedly pursued by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate, most recently Manish Sisodia of the Aam Aadmi Party and Lalu Yadav and his family of the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
