Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said his party is open to discussions if someone outside the Congress party should lead the opposition Bharat Bloc.
Speaking in New Delhi Delhi, Raut said that all the components of the India bloc are willing to negotiate on this issue.
The Sena UBT chief spokesperson was reacting to Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad’s comments that West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee should be allowed to lead the Bharat Bloc.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is currently the president of the opposition group formed ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“Our party’s relationship with the Congress leadership, including Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, has been excellent. Congress is a national party and has the largest number of MPs among India’s allies. Still, if India’s bloc is to be strengthened again, everyone wants to discuss a leadership that can give time to the alliance. Akhilesh Yadav,’ Raut said.
He suggested that BJD chief Naveen Patnaik, whose party is not part of the bloc, could also join India.
Notably, relations between Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress have been strained in Maharashtra following the defeat of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in the recent Maharashtra assembly elections.