On 30th October (Monday), former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed concerns over the public spat and the rift between the I.N.D.I Alliance partners Congress and Samajwadi Party. He termed the internal fights an “unfortunate” situation asserting that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc is not in good shape.
He said, “It is unfortunate that the condition of the INDIA Alliance is not strong right now. There are some internal fights which should not be there, especially in the four to five states where there are elections.”
#WATCH | Kupwara: On INDIA Alliance, National Conference Vice President and former J&K CM Omar Abdullah says, "It is unfortunate that the condition of INDIA Alliance is not strong right now. There are some internal fights which should not be there, especially in the 4 to 5 states… pic.twitter.com/9Y5S4EnZ94
— ANI (@ANI) October 30, 2023
He highlighted the recent statements given by Congress and SP with both parties pressing that they will contest in all 80 Lok Sabha constituencies of Uttar Pradesh despite being in an umbrella alliance. He emphasised that this is not good for the I.N.D.I.A. bloc. However, he expressed hope that once the state elections are over they will try to iron out their differences and work together.
Omar Abdullah added, “The way the fight between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress surfaced and both said that they will contest all seats in UP, this is not good for the I.N.D.I.A. alliance. Maybe we will meet again after the state elections. We will try to sit and work together.”
Lately, I.N.D.I. Alliance partners Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) have been fighting over the seat-sharing formula for the state assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh slated for next month. Akhilesh Yadav accused the Congress of ‘betrayal’ and fielded 33 candidates in Madhya Pradesh. In retaliation, the leaders of the grand old party and the likes of UP Congress Chief Ajay Rai and Former MP CM Kamal Nath made verbal attacks against the SP party Chief.
Additionally, Yadav also launched attacks on Congress for asking a nationwide caste census asserting that it was being done only for political benefit. While participating in the Lok Jagran Abhiyan program in Hardoi, he asserted that it is a ‘miracle’ that Congress is ‘now’ asking for a caste census.
On its part, the Congress unit in Uttar Pradesh challenged the SP Chief on his own home turf by putting up posters portraying ‘Ajay Rai as CM’ and ‘Rahul Gandhi as PM’. It was seen as a tit-for-tat move as just three days earlier SP had installed posters in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow showing Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav as the future prime minister of India.
