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Election results are a setback to INDIA bloc, says RLD chief
The Congress lost its governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, and failed to dislodge the BJP in Madhya Pradesh
The results of assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are a setback to the INDIA bloc, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief and a member of the Opposition grouping, Jayant Chaudhary, said in an interview with HT on Friday, as he pointed to lack of coordination in the coalition group as one of the reasons for the poll debacle.
The remark comes over a week after the Congress lost its governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, and failed to dislodge the BJP in Madhya Pradesh. Though the party won Telangana, its dismal head-to-head record against the BJP cast a long shadow on the grand old party’s ability to put up a credible fight against the BJP in the Hindi belt, and effectively relegated it to southern India.
“The assembly results in MP (Madhya Pradesh), Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are certainly a setback to the INDIA bloc, though the BJP won only by a narrow margin as far as vote-share is concerned. So, there was no problem with our approach,” Chaudhary said, when asked about the Bharatiya Janata Party’s clean sweep in all the three Hindi-heartland states.
Pointing to a “lack of coordination” among INDIA bloc partners, the RLD chief said: “It is just about managing the last mile of elections by getting all coalition parties on board and speaking in the same voice.”
“I strongly feel the Samajwadi Party (SP) should have been given a fair share in MP and more seats should have been given to us (RLD) in Rajasthan. And all should have actively campaigned against the BJP in one voice,” he added.
Asked if the RLD was rethinking its affiliation with the INDIA bloc after the assembly polls, the Rajya Sabha member said: “Despite minor differences that we might have, we all are working for a common cause that (is to) stop the BJP from coming to power in 2024. The RLD will continue to play a leading role enabling the INDIA group to take things to a logical conclusion. Today, in the state executive meeting, I urged party workers to ignore petty issues for a larger unity of the INDIA bloc. I also told them that contrary to rumours intermittently, the RLD would continue in the INDIA group only while taking care of their (RLD workers) interests at the same time.”
