NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday asserted that the “INDIA bloc is intact” amid ongoing calls for a leadership change within the alliance.While talking to reporters in Chandigarh, the SP chief slammed critics and said that those who talk about “divide-and-rule politics” must be dealt with very cautiously.“The INDIA alliance is intact and will remain intact. Our priority is how to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal and how to defeat it in Uttar Pradesh,” Akhilesh said.“The election in Uttar Pradesh will not just be the 2027 election; it will also set the direction for 2029. Those who talk about divide-and-rule politics must be dealt with very cautiously. They may create such situations that divide society, so we need to remain very careful about that,” he added.This comes after veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is central to the survival of the opposition INDIA bloc.While talking to news agency IANS, Aiyar suggested that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should allow leaders of smaller parties to steer the INDIA bloc.“Without Mamata di, the ‘I’, ‘N’, ‘D’, ‘I’, ‘A’ of the INDIA alliance will all be gone. Because Mamata Banerjee is the leader of this alliance,” Aiyar said.Earlier, Sanjaya Baru, who served as media adviser to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said that “new ideas should” lead or manage the INDIA bloc.Additionally, Shiv Sena (UBT) also called for dialogue within the alliance and said that the opposition must not wait until polls are announced to coordinate its strategy.In an editorial, the party’s mouthpiece Saamana said, stressing that multiple inner voices are emerging within the grand old party.The statements come ahead of assembly elections in four states and one Union Territory — West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry.The Election Commission of India (ECI) is expected to announce the official schedule soon.
