The political impact of the proposed ‘Mahagathbandhan’ or grand alliance of opposition parties in the upcoming general elections is still obscure, however, it has definitely given way for the several opposition leaders to aspire to be the country’s next Prime Minister.
Reportedly, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav seems to have also thrown his hat in the possible contest of being the Prime Minister candidate of the Mahagathbandhan as posters have already propped up in Uttar Pradesh to position SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav as the prime ministerial candidate of the grand alliance which intends to fight the incumbent BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
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The posters erected by the SP party workers in the capital city of Lucknow read, “We trust in Akhilesh- The country needs a new PM”. The new posters put up by the Samajwadi party workers indicate the new found aspirations of the party chief Yadav to jump into the list of contenders which includes many other opposition leaders who have already expressed their desire to be the country’s next Prime Minister.
The regional parties of various states, who are facing existential crisis have come united to fight the Narendra Modi led BJP in the upcoming elections. With too many contradictions in itself, the Mahagathbandhan has been fighting on an Anti-Modi plank rather than a positive agenda. The friction between the leaders of the alliance seems to have already crept into the Mahagathbandhan as many leaders have been expressing their aspirations to occupy the top post.
Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee was the first one to express her Prime Ministerial ambitions. Mayawati has often projected herself to be the face of the alliance and may push for the post if Mahagathbandhan manages to pull off a victory in 2019. The scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty Rahul Gandhi has also made his willingness for the post but apart from the DMK and its coalition partner JD(S), no one believes Rahul is the right man for the post.
Recently, former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha also expressed his interest to become the Prime Ministerial candidate of the proposed Mahagathbandhan. While the Congress is unlikely to relent on Rahul Gandhi being the PM candidate, Mayawati’s BSP has declared that they want her to be the PM face. Among the parties supporting the proposed ‘Mahagathbandhan’, only DMK’s Stalin had voiced support for Rahul Gandhi. Stalin’s declaration was met with vocal criticism by both Mamata Banerjee and TDP’s N Chandrababu Naidu.