Akhilesh Yadav says INDIA bloc intact despite leadership buzz: 'No rift’

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav

Amid ongoing calls for leadership change within the opposition alliance, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said that the INDIA bloc is “intact”.

In Chandigarh, the SP chief told Times of India that those who talk about "divide-and-rule politics" must be dealt with very cautiously.

“The INDIA alliance is intact and will remain intact. Our priority is how to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal and how to defeat it in Uttar Pradesh," said Akhilesh.

According to the SP chief, the election in Uttar Pradesh will not just be the 2027 election.

“It will also set the direction for 2029. Those who talk about divide-and-rule politics must be dealt with very cautiously. They may create such situations that divide society, so we need to remain very careful about that," he said.

The remark comes after veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar said that Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, is central to the survival of the opposition INDIA bloc.

Aiyar on Monday took aim at Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, saying Banerjee is the real leader of the INDIA bloc and that the alliance would not survive without her.

Speaking to IANS, Aiyar said, “Without Mamata di, the ‘I’, ‘N’, ‘D’, ‘I’, ‘A’ of the INDIA alliance will be gone. Because Mamata Banerjee is the leader of this alliance. Along with her, there are two to four others who can achieve this position.”

He added that instead of trying to hold on to the leadership space, Gandhi should allow leaders of regional parties to take the lead. Referring to figures such as Stalin, Banerjee, Akhilesh, and Tejashwi Yadav, Aiyar suggested that the leadership of the alliance naturally belongs to leaders of smaller, regional parties.