The I.N.D.I Alliance never managed to declare a PM face before the election and the leadership of the alliance was always under question as to who would be the PM of the country if the motley coalition of Opposition political parties managed to defeat the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.
As per a report in ANI, it has been discussed among the top leaders of the I.N.D.I. Alliance partners that if they manage to defeat the BJP and somehow win a majority of the seats, they would choose leaders among them to hold the PM post for 1 year each, so that no major partner of the alliance gets upset.
ANI quoted sources privy to the top-level negotiations ongoing among the I.N.D.I. Alliance partners, saying that a ‘one year each’ formula may be decided upon in the eventuality of victory, so none of the top leaders of the largest parties are left out.
The I.N.D.I. Alliance partners could never finalise a seat-sharing formula either, in most Indian states, not just their PM face. Mamata Banerjee got upset with the Congress and left the alliance, and has TMC candidates contesting all 42 seats in Bengal. Similarly, CPM’s Annie Raja is challenging Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad, and in Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti has also left the I.N.D.I. Alliance.
However, the sources cited by the ANI report further mentioned that the current differences and upsets can be easily forgotten if the I.N.D.I. Alliance secures a majority in the Lok Sabha elections.
“Everything is being discussed threadbare. We have to start our ground game now. The country cannot have a situation where the I.N.D.I. Alliance is not sure of who will lead the country in the case of a post-BJP scenario”, the sources said.
