Madhya Pradesh Polls: INDIA a ‘purely opportunistic’ alliance, bound to wither away, says BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad

BHOPAL: Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday dubbed the opposition INDIA bloc as a “purely opportunistic” alliance that it is bound to disintegrate, a day after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar blamed the Congress’ preoccupation with assembly polls in five states for coalition’s inability to build on the momentum it had gained in recent months. He claimed Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath was on a sticky wicket in his home turf Chhindwara from where he is in the fray for the November 17 assembly polls. “Nitish Kumar has given a big statement admitting that there is a problem in the INDIA alliance nowadays. Nitish has said (Congress leader) Rahul (Gandhi) does not have time (for INDIA bloc) due to elections,” the former Union minister told a press conference here. “Here (in Madhya Pradesh), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Janata Dal (U), the Samajwadi Party (all constituents of the opposition bloc) have jumped into the poll fray,” he said.

Prasad accused leaders of the Congress, the biggest party in the INDIA grouping, of playing drama in the name of opposition unity. “I was reading an interview of Kamal Nath in which he said INDIA alliance partners have virtually no stake in Madhya Pradesh, where there is a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress. Kamal Nathji and Rahul Gandhiji, if the fight is direct then why you all were playing out a drama for the last six months for the INDIA alliance,” he quipped.

Prasad claimed the alliance consisting of more than two dozen anti-BJP parties is getting scattered before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. “Patna meeting, Bengaluru meeting, Mumbai meeting… , the general elections have not been announced and you are getting scattered,” the lawyer-politician said, taking a jibe at the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc. “This is a purely opportunistic alliance so it was bound to disintegrate. Yesterday, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav announced that if there is an alliance for 80 (Lok Sabha) seats (in Uttar Pradesh), his party will contest elections on 65 of them. He has said adjustments should be made for rest of the (15) seats,” the senior BJP leader said. Prasad claimed Congress leader Nath, a former CM, is facing tough time in the Chhindwara assembly seat.

“I went to Chhindwara yesterday and I want to tell you all that Kamal Nathji is in deep trouble in Chhindwara. Don’t be surprised if he loses elections. This was my observation during the visit,” he added. Bihar CM Kumar, a key architect of INDIA, on Thursday blamed the Congress’ preoccupation with assembly polls in five states, including Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, for the coalition’s inability to build on the momentum it had gained in recent months.

He said in Patna, “Of late, there has not been much progress on that front. The Congress party seems to be more interested in the five assembly polls. In the INDIA coalition, all of us had agreed to assign the Congress the leading role. But it appears they will respond and call the next meeting only after they are through with the ongoing elections.” The JD(U) leader had hosted the first meeting of opposition leaders in Patna in June which set the tone for the formation of the new coalition.