KOLKATA: Days after Trinamul supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she was ready to head the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, to prominent leaders of the Opposition grouping appeared to say that they had no objections to the proposal.
Senior RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said he has no objection to any senior leader of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, including Mamata Banerjee, leading the coalition, but stressed that the decision must be reached through consensus.
“I.N.D.I.A. hasn't thought on this matter and there has to be a discussion involving all stakeholders,” he said in Kolkata. “We have no issue with Mamata Banerjee leading the bloc, but keeping in mind there are so many senior politicians in the the anti-BJP coalition, there's a need to sit together and take a collective decision on choosing a leader,” he said.
In Mumbai, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar supported Mamata Banerjee's statement, telling reporters in Kolhapur on Saturday that the Trinamul chief was a capable leader and has the right to show her intent to head the opposition alliance. “The MPs she has sent to Parliament are hardworking and aware.”
Meanwhile, the Trinamul Congress raised the pitch with party MP Kirti Azad saying Mamata Banerjee was the “most suitable” for the job as she was the only leader who had repeatedly defeated the BJP.
In an interview to a news channel on Friday, Banerjee expressed dissatisfaction with the functioning of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc and indicated her readiness to take charge of the alliance if given an opportunity.
She said she could manage the dual responsibility of running the opposition front while continuing her role as Chief Minister of West Bengal.
Her statement comes at a time when voices of discontent have emerged within the opposition INDIA bloc following the recent electoral setbacks for the Congress, including in Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Maharashtra.
“Senior leaders, including the seniormost Sharad Pawar ji, have also said Mamata Banerjee should be made the leader of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, “ Azad said. “There is a need for change. Mamata Banerjee is the only leader who has repeatedly defeated the BJP and Modi ji, and in the recent byelections in West Bengal, BJP was thrown out of Bengal.”
“She has a lot of experience, she herself said she has created the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, and she has said that she is ready to lead the bloc if she gets an opportunity. She has been an MP, Union minister, and since 2011 the Chief Minister of West Bengal,” Azad said.
“It is time to make Mamata Banerjee leader of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc. With her experience she is the most suitable for this job,” he added.
