Days after the Shiv Sena (UBT) announced to go solo in the local body polls in Maharashtra, party leader Sanjay Raut on Monday said no alliance can succeed if dialogue among its partners ceases. To maintain communication among partners, "responsible leaders" need to be appointed, and the Congress, which is the largest constituent of the opposition INDIA bloc, must take on this role, Raut told reporters here.
He also said there was nothing wrong in contesting elections against coalition partners, but in such cases, no party should dub their former or potential future allies as "traitors".
On Saturday, Raut cited the lack of opportunities for workers of respective parties in an alliance and the right to organisational growth as the major considerations for contesting solo, which raised a question mark over the opposition bloc's unity.
The Rajya Sabha member on Sunday asserted his party wants to go solo in the local bodies polls to strengthen its base and has never called for the dissolution of the opposition INDIA bloc or the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which include the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP).
On Monday, while speaking about the INDIA bloc, Raut said, "It is the collective desire of all of us to progress further in the political landscape of this country. However, over the past few days, some of our alliance partners seem to have taken the stance that communication has broken down. No alliance can succeed if dialogue is severed." He claimed the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance collapsed in 2019 because dialogue between the two ceased.
"Lack of proper communication and dialogue directly contributed to the alliance's breakup," he said.
The INDIA bloc consists of nearly 30 parties and to maintain dialogue with all of them, it is essential to appoint some responsible leaders, Raut said.
He said Uddhav Thackeray has repeatedly emphasised this point during the INDIA bloc meetings and other senior leaders have also raised the issue.
"The INDIA bloc has performed remarkably well in the country's politics during the Lok Sabha elections, and it must continue to thrive. As the largest party in the alliance, the Congress bears the greatest responsibility. Congress must assume this role," Raut said.
On contesting elections against allies, Raut said there is nothing wrong in fighting polls against one another.
"In a state like Delhi, for example, the AAP and the Congress can compete. Similarly, in municipal elections (in Maharashtra), as we have suggested, a different approach might be necessary," he said.
"However, while considering such alternatives, no one should go to the extent of labelling their former or potential future allies as traitors. This is the stand of Uddhav Thackeray and the Shiv Sena (UBT)," he added.
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