Sanjaya Baru, who was reportedly the media adviser to the late former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, has suggested that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would be a beneficial choice to lead the INDIA bloc.
Baru, in an article for The Telegraph, said that “repeating the Sonia Gandhi-Manmohan Singh model with Rahul Gandhi-Mallikarjun Kharge has not helped.”
The article was shared by TMC leader Sagarika Ghose in a post on X (formerly Twitter). She said, “an idea whose time has come.”
Poll-bound West Bengal has become a political battleground as campaign activities pick up pace. For instance, ahead of the assembly elections, the state government had earlier announced a Rs. 500 monthly increase in the ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ scheme and proposed a new portal to extend social security benefits to gig workers.
On the other hand, ANI earlier reported that Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge held a crucial meeting with Congress’s West Bengal leadership at 10 Rajaji Marg in New Delhi ahead of the forthcoming assembly poll.
Mani Shankar Aiyar’s bid for MK Stalin
Senior politician and former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar on Monday suggested that DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin is the “best man to consolidate” the INDIA bloc. He emphasised that a united national Opposition requires strong leadership and strategic coordination.
Aiyar reasoned that Stalin focuses on raising substantive issues rather than sloganeering and would not stand in the way of Rahul Gandhi becoming Prime Minister.
Speaking to ANI, the Congress leader said, “What Stalin has done over the past one year is to raise every single point that is relevant to federalism in India.”
“He has never said ‘suit-boot ki sarkar.’ He has never said ‘chowkidar chor hai.’… He has the great virtue that he won’t stand in the way of Rahul Gandhi becoming the Prime Minister,” Aiyar added.
Further, Aiyar drew a historical parallel between Stalin and former Congress chief K Kamaraj, who had declined the prime ministership after Jawaharlal Nehru, stressing that leadership roles should prioritise unity over personal ambition. The Congress leader seemed to imply that Stalin could play a kingmaker role similar to that of former Congress president K Kamaraj.
“If the INDIA bloc is consolidated, I think the best man to consolidate it is MK Stalin. When Kamaraj was asked to become the PM of India in succession to Jawaharlal Nehru, he had one sentence to say to everybody who asked him – “No English, No Hindi. How?” So, MK Stalin is in the same position. Rahul Gandhi can become the PM of India, provided there is somebody to spend all his time consolidating the INDIA bloc,” he said.
Aiyar’s endorsement of Stalin to unify the national opposition alliance came amidst a critique of his own party’s leadership. He also did not hold back his criticism of key figures of his party, expressing “complete contempt” for spokesperson Pawan Khera.
