INDIA bloc only for national elections, no discussion on state & local polls: Sharad Pawar

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar (Courtesy: PTI photo)

Amid the ongoing feud between Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in Delhi, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar said that the Opposition INDIA bloc is meant only for national-level elections, claiming that there have been no discussions over state and local body polls.

"There has never been any discussion on state and local elections in INDIA alliance. INDIA alliance is only for national-level elections. In the upcoming municipal elections in Maharashtra, everyone will decide by holding a meeting in 8-10 days whether we will fight together or alone," he said on Tuesday.

His remarks came days after Shiv Sena (UBT) -- part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra also comprising of Congress and NCP (SP) -- announced its decision to go solo in the local body polls in Maharashtra.

Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut called out the Congress party to take responsibility for saving the INDIA bloc, an alliance formed to contest the 2024 general elections. He expressed frustration that no meetings of the INDIA alliance have been held since the Lok Sabha polls and stated that it is now the Congress party's responsibility to organise one.

"It is true that the INDIA alliance was formed for the Lok Sabha elections and after the elections not a single meeting of the INDIA alliance was held. Congress party was responsible for calling this meeting," Raut, who is Shiv Sena (UBT) MP in Rajya Sabha, told reporters.

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, too, had expressed dissatisfaction with the INDIA bloc's undefined agenda and leadership. He had also suggested that the alliance should be disbanded if its purpose was limited to the parliamentary elections.

“As far as I remember, there was no time limit to the INDIA alliance. Unfortunately, no INDIA alliance meeting is being organised so there is no clarity about leadership, agenda, or our (INDIA bloc's) existence. They should wind up the alliance in case it was just for the Parliament elections,” he said on questions over the opposition unity amid the ongoing feud between AAP and Congress in Delhi.

The AAP and Congress have been locked in a verbal battle ahead of the Delhi elections. While Congress has accused Arvind Kejriwal’s administration of inefficiency and corruption, AAP has fired back, alleging that Congress is secretly collaborating with the BJP.

On Tuesday, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal took to X and said the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls will expose the "jugalbandi" between the Congress and the BJP. His remarks came after BJP leader Amit Malviya reacted to his comments on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.

“I said just one line about Rahul Gandhi and the reply is coming from the BJP. Look how much trouble the BJP is facing. Perhaps this Delhi election will expose the 'Jugalbandi' going on behind the scenes between Congress and BJP for years…," the former Delhi chief minister wrote on X.

The relations between AAP and the Congress, both partners of the INDIA bloc, have been strained after they failed to enter into a pre-poll alliance for the Haryana Assembly polls last year.

Addressing an election rally in Seelampur on Monday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kejriwal remain silent on the issue of caste census as they do not want people from the backward community, Dalits, tribals and minorities to get their due share.

Specifically targeting Kejriwal at his first public meeting for the Delhi polls, the Congress leader said that the AAP convenor was following Prime Minister Modi's "strategy of propaganda and false promises" despite rising pollution, corruption and inflation in the national capital.

Amid the clash, prominent INDIA bloc members, such as Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, and Shiv Sena (UBT), have extended their support to AAP, further isolating Congress.