RJD chief Lalu Yadav has backed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to lead the INDIA bloc after she recently said that she was not averse to leading the anti-BJP coalition. Lalu’s remarks came days after Banerjee said she would like to take the leadership role in the alliance.
Yadav stressed that any misgivings the Congress party may have over Banerjee’s leadership would count for nothing. “Mamata Banerjee should be allowed to head the INDIA bloc.”.
Reacting to a question on opposition by Congress to accept her as the leader of the front, Yadav said: “Opposition by Congress will not make any difference … She should be allowed to lead the INDIA bloc. His son Tejashwi Yadav, a senior RJD leader has already made it clear through proper channels that he has no objections to any senior leader – including Banerjee — to lead the coalition if such a decision is taken amicably.
On December 6, Mamata Banerjee expressed her discontentment with the way the INDIA bloc is presently functioning and said she was ready to take over the reins of the bloc if given an opportunity. She asserted that she could handle both the responsibilities of being the Chief Minister and leading the opposition front. “I had formed the INDIA bloc; now it is up to those leading the front to manage it. If they are unable to run the show, what can I do? Everybody has to be taken along,” she said in an interview to Bengali news channel News 18 Bangla.
Addressing the proposed statewide yatra by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar from December 15, Yadav said, “He is undertaking the statewide yatra just to soothe his eyes. The RJD-led coalition will form the government in the state in 2025.” Kumar’s ‘Mahila Samvad Yatra’ seeks to review the progress of the state government’s seven-resolves programme while interacting with women across the state to assess the public mood.
