Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Tuesday slammed infighting within the parties which are a part of the INDIA bloc, while stating that this is “what the voters reject.”
The former Rajya Sabha MP criticised the “gloating” from allies over Trinamool Congress's loss in Bengal and DMK's defeat in Tamil Nadu as “shameful”. “The kind of gloating coming from within own India Alliance over the failure of TMC and DMK is shameful to see,” Chaturvedi said in a post on X.
In West Bengal, the BJP defeated Mamata Banerjee's TMC to form government in the state for the first time, winning 207 seats. The TMC secured 80 seats in the Assembly polls. Meanwhile, actor-turned-poltician Vijay's TVK emerged as the single largest party in Tamil Nadu with 108 seats, with the DMK reduced to 59 seats.
{{/usCountry}}In West Bengal, the BJP defeated Mamata Banerjee's TMC to form government in the state for the first time, winning 207 seats. The TMC secured 80 seats in the Assembly polls. Meanwhile, actor-turned-poltician Vijay's TVK emerged as the single largest party in Tamil Nadu with 108 seats, with the DMK reduced to 59 seats.
{{/usCountry}}Mamata and Stalin also lost the respective constituencies they were contesting from – Bhabanipur and Kolathur. Both the TMC and DMK have been a part of the Opposition INDIA bloc.
‘ Saw similar boasting when Kejriwal, Tejashwi lost’
Flagging some allies' behaviour after their loss, Chaturvedi also drew similarities with the poll setbacks faced by Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi and the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar.
“Saw similar boasting when Arvind Kejriwal, Tejaswi Yadav (part of India Alliance) lost and in AAP’s recent split,” the Sena (UBT) leader said, adding that these allies were now “aiming their guns” at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections scheduled to be held next year.
Chaturvedi said that the “voters reject” such divides, alleging that the BJP “exploits” it. “These divides are exactly what the voters reject and BJP exploits. 2024 was not one party leading the way in the opposition, it was a joint collaborative effort by all parties combined,” she said in the post, while urging parties to “remember” why the INDIA bloc was formed.
“So please back off and remember the spirit of why India Alliance came about in the first place,” she said.
‘Put petty politics aside’: Rahul warns against ‘gloating’
Chaturvedi's post comes even as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, one of the noted faces in the Opposition bloc, also took to social media platform X to slam the “gloating” in his party and others.
“Some in the Congress, and others, are gloating about TMC’s loss,” the Lok Sabha MP said, alleging the “theft” of Assam and Bengal's mandate.
“They need to understand this clearly - the theft of Assam and Bengal’s mandate is a big step forward by the BJP in its mission to destroy Indian democracy,” he said, urging allies and his party leads to “put petty politics aside.” “This is not about one party or another. This is about India,” Gandhi added.