NEW DELHI: BJP seized on the absence of SP’s Akhilesh Yadav from the INDIA bloc meeting – after DMK exited the alliance months back – to assert that it is falling apart, claiming that none of its senior neta are willing to recognise Rahul Gandhi as their leader.“It is not ‘Save Democracy March’ but Save Dynasty March,” Union minister Shivraj Chouhan said at a presser after the opposition bloc announced a series of programmes to step up its campaign over the alleged collusion between EC and govt.He said Akhilesh kept away despite UP being a big state which is also going to the polls, while DMK’s M K Stalin and AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal have left the alliance. Sena UBT neta Uddhav Thackeray joined virtually, he noted.“The truth is INDI alliance is not ready to accept Rahul as its leader,” Chouhan said, adding that Congress has tried to launch his career dozens of times but in vain. Even Congress does not have confidence in Rahul, he said, citing his reported comment at a meeting of party netas Tuesday that he should be trusted over his anti-SIR pitch. The meeting had zero outcome and vision, he said, adding that it was essentially born out of opposition’s frustration over its continuing poll losses and aimed at finding excuses for future defeats.Five states – UP, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur – are slated for polls next year and are key to opposition parties’ bid to revive their challenge to BJP, which is in the driver’s seat politically after winning polls in a number of states following its below-par performance in the 2024 LS elections.
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With Mamata Banerjee joining INDIA meeting, Chouhan noted that Rahul had released a video during the Bengal elections in which he had said BJP was gaining ground in the state because of her mistakes, without blaming SIR.“Whenever elections approach, INDI alliance, Rahul and Mallikarjun Kharge either start questioning courts or begin politicising constitutional institutions,” he said.Backing SIR, he said a clean voter list is soul of democracy. Opposing the removal of names of deceased persons, non-citizens and duplicate entries cannot be in the interests of democracy, he added.