What Congress MP Imran Masood said about the unity of INDIA bloc

Congress MP from UP Imran Masood has expressed concerns that the unity of the INDIA bloc should not come at the expense of the Congress party. He said that several regional parties are eager for the Congress to take a subordinate role. He said that these parties want the Congress to remain on the backfoot.

Masood said, "The question of the future of the India Alliance worries everyone. It cannot happen that you suppress the Congress." 

He said, "Regional parties want the Congress to remain on the backfoot. We take everyone along with the national agenda, but we cannot dissolve our party."

After facing a crushing defeat in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the India Block has suffered a major setback. In the recent Delhi Assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress contested separately, although they were part of the India Block. 

Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Tuesday said that the alliance will have to sit together and work carefully to sort things out.

Speaking about the Congress, Sibal said that the party always tries to work together and move forward with consensus. However, he also admitted that sometimes the alliance faces problems, citing the example of the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, where the Congress's dismal performance prevented the 'maha gathbandhan' from reaching a majority. 

Addressing a press conference, Sibal said, "The Congress party always tries to work together and move forward with consensus. It is true that there are problems at times."

He said that in the last election in Bihar, seats were given to the Congress, but they could not win and RJD said that they could not come to power because of the Congress. All parties (Mahagathbandhan) will have to decide how to fight the elections. 

The BJP came to power by securing a two-thirds majority in the February 8 Delhi elections. The ruling AAP suffered major losses, seeing its numbers reduce significantly in the 70-member Assembly, while the Congress continued to falter. 

Earlier, the BJP also registered strong victories in Haryana and Maharashtra, ending the opposition's chances of maintaining the momentum of the Lok Sabha election results. 

(Prakash Kumar Pandey)