On December 16, DMK Chief Stalin put forward Rahul Gandhi’s name as Mahagathbandhan’s PM candidate in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. This certainly has not gone down well with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) as the party led by Mamata Banerjee lashed out against Stalin over the statement. This hints towards another setback for the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ (The Grand Alliance).
We will install a new Prime Minister in Delhi. We will build a new India.
I have proposed Thiru @rahulgandhi's name as PM and appeal to respected leaders of all the parties to strengthen his hands and save the nation from the fascist Modi government. pic.twitter.com/HjouCAIIuD
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) December 16, 2018
A statement released by TMC read, “We have taken this very seriously. The entire Opposition is taking a closer and serious view of it. The presentation or announcement of any name is not welcoming. This could harm the unity amongst the Opposition parties.”
While addressing a rally followed by the unveiling of the statue of former DMK leader and his father late M Karunanidhi, MK Stalin vowed to make Rahul Gandhi the next PM. In his speech, in the presence of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he said, “In 2018, on the occasion of unveiling Thalaivar Kalaignar statue, I propose, we will install a new prime minister in Delhi. We will build a new India, as the Son of Thalaivar Kalaignar; I propose the candidature of Rahul Gandhi from Tamil Nadu. He has got the ability to defeat the fascist Modi government. We will save this nation. We will work to strengthen Rahul Gandhi and his endeavor”.
TMC lashes out at @mkstalin over the announcement of PM face. India Today's @manogyaloiwal gets us more on this. #ITVideo
Watch LIVE at https://t.co/4fqxBVUizL pic.twitter.com/vo5o3bpRah— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) December 16, 2018
The event of unveiling the statue brought almost all the opposition parties together. The event was attended by representatives of the TDP, CPI (M), Congress and DMK party. In the event, Stalin said his support for Rahul Gandhi as PM candidate is similar to that of his father’s for Indira Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi’s name did not seem to get a green signal by most of the parties of the Grand Alliance. Samajwadi Party too did not appear in favour of the PM pitch. However, when asked about the outcome of such an announcement, the Samajwadi party chose to maintain silence. One of the journalists from India Today asked Ghanshyam Tiwari, a Samajwadi Party leader about the matter, on which he said, “It is the mandate of the people that will decide who the prime minister of the nation will be”. Clearly, he seemed to cover up the disagreement regarding Rahul Gandhi’s candidature. He further added, “This is not a disagreement. I am just saying this point has not even been on the table as of now”. “The TMC, the Samajwadi Party, Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) disagree with Stalin’s announcement. It is premature. The PM name is to be decided only after the Lok Sabha results,” a top opposition leader told PTI.
Things seem to be exacerbating for the Grand Alliance and it is going to have a tough time in resolving its internal conflicts before the Lok Sabha elections. Such coalitions without any common ideology often result in similar conflicts. Most of the parties in the Mahagathbandhan came together for a single agenda of defeating the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. But this single agenda does not seem to hold numerous ideologies together. After the victory of the Congress in the recent assembly elections, the mainstream media is trying to project Rahul Gandhi as the PM in waiting. On the other hand, Mamata’s decision of staying away from the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected Congress CMs of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, is suggestive of the fact that all is not well within Mahagathbandhan.