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After Mamata Banerjee, Nitish Kumar snub, INDIA bloc's Lok Sabha poll prospects take early and big hits
The opposition INDIA bloc, which was formed a few months ago to defeat BJP in the Lok Sabha polls, has recently been finding it hard to stick together.
The Opposition's INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) bloc, which was formed last year to take on the BJP, appears to be breaking down with several key constituents vowing to contest the Lok Sabha elections alone in their respective states.
Before Nitish Kumar quit the INDIA alliance today, Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, Arvind Kejriwal's AAP and Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party have hinted they will not let the Congress play the big brother.
Here's a look at states and Union territories where the INDIA bloc allies are attempting to relegate the Congress to a minor player status.
Why did Nitish Kumar quit INDIA bloc?
After several days of feverish speculation, JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar on Sunday dropped out of the INDIA bloc. He quit the Mahagathbandhan and joined hands with the BJP. According to Kumar, the INDIA bloc was “not doing its bit”. He claimed that people were unhappy with how others in the coalition were “taking credit for the work being done” by him.
“I have submitted my resignation as Bihar CM today. I have also asked the governor to dissolve the government…Situations within the coalition were not favourable…Things were not working out well," he said.
Why Mamata Banerjee has decided to go solo in Bengal?
In a major setback for the INDIA bloc, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced last week that her Trinamool Congress will contest the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal alone.
“We have not talked to anyone about it (seat sharing). However, my party had sent a proposal to them (Congress), which was dismissed right away. Therefore, we decided to go alone in Bengal (for the polls). No talks on the matter have been done so far," Banerjee had said.
The announcement came after Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary said Banerjee had offered his party only two seats for the Lok Sabha elections. He later called her an opportunist.
Since the announcement, the Congress has been trying to mollify her.
On Saturday, Chowdhary offered an apology to TMC leader Derek O'Brien for calling the latter a foreigner.
Why is there AAP-Congress tension in Punjab and Haryana?
The Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab and Haryana units have made it clear that they will contest the Lok Sabha elections on all seats of the state. The announcements come amid seat-sharing talks between the Congress and AAP.
Last week, Bhagwant Mann said AAP will contest the Lok Sabha elections in all 13 seats in Punjab.
Today, Arvind Kejriwal said his party will contest all 90 assembly seats in Haryana on its own, but the Lok Sabha polls will be fought as part of the INDIA bloc.
However, the party's local unit said on Saturday it will contest the elections alone.
Akhilesh announces alliance with RJD
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav announced the party's alliance with Jayant Chaudhary's Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The announcement of the alliance came amid efforts by the INDIA bloc to stitch alliances in several states, including UP, Delhi, and Punjab.
