Mumbai, February 18 The Shiv Sena (UBT) said on Wednesday that the issue of leadership change within the INDIA opposition bloc has resurfaced and cannot be ignored, asserting that it is necessary to determine who will lead the alliance, apparently referring to the Congress.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led party cited voices from disgruntled Congress members and those associated with the UPA dispensation, who suggested that the leadership of the INDIA bloc should be given to the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, or the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M K Stalin.
"The decision must be made regarding Mamata, Stalin, or someone else," an editorial in the Sena (UBT) mouthpiece, 'Saamana', said.
Instead of waiting until elections are announced and then discussing the opposition alliance, it is necessary for its partners to hold discussions and make conscious decisions, it opined.
The Congress has been leading the INDIA 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 INDIA 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 the 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 local elections, which benefited the BJP, it noted.
"The question is as much about the nation as it is about the political discourse. Whenever elections are announced, the INDIA bloc may surely wake up and hold talks. But taking a conscious decision by sitting together is wiser," it suggested.
"The decision must be made regarding Mamata, Stalin, or someone else," the Marathi publication added.
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, has taken a good stand that he will remain unperturbed if he is "removed from Parliament" or if cases are foisted on him by the government, which is good and reflects his fighting spirit, it said.
However, 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