BJP mocks INDIA bloc on contest between leaders for PM's post, SP chief calls it non-issue

LUCKNOW: Days after Samajwadi party president Akhilesh Yadav and Congress entered into a war of words over seat sharing in Madhya Pradesh assembly polls, posters emerged portraying SP party president as the 'Future PM' candidate.

Bharatiya Janata Party was quick to mock the opposition parties constituting the INDIA bloc and made a remark that the opposition grouping is 'confused and alliance is full of contradictions.' BJP General Secretary Tarun Chugh said that there are already 18 contenders for the post of Prime Minister from the opposition alliance and Akhilesh Yadav has become the 19th candidate.

Akhilesh Yadav and some opposition leaders dismissed the poster row as a 'non-issue' while saying the bigger issue is to defeat the BJP in the upcoming assembly polls and in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and Chattisgarh are set to go for polls in November and the counting of votes will be held on December 3. Taking a dig at political parties constituting the INDIA bloc for promoting their respective leaders as Prime Ministerial candidates, BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla hit out at the opposition alliance saying that the alliance has no policy, or intention to serve the people but only desire for power. Shehzad Poonawalla said that the opposition bloc is busy fighting with each other on multiple issues and lacks clarity in their vision.

"INDI alliance is a unique alliance, it has no mission and vision for the country. There is only confusion, contradiction and thirst for ambition. First Congress and Samajwadi Party were fighting over seats in Madhya Pradesh. Now they were fighting over the PM post though there is no vacancy for the PM post," he said.

Giving a witty-quick reply on the hoardings portraying Akhilesh Yadav as 'future PM', the Samajwadi Party President on Monday said that merely putting up posters does not make a person Prime Minister. Akhilesh Yadav said," Anyone can put anyone's poster but that does not mean he can become PM. No one is going to become the Prime Minister just by putting up posters. "Elaborating about the mission of his party he added, "If any supporter has put up a poster, he is expressing what he wants. The goal of Samajwadis is to stop BJP." Samajwadi Party leader Anurag Bhadouria also came in support of the party president and said that Akhilesh Yadav has the potential to become Prime Minister adding that people in Uttar Pradesh still remember development work done during the tenure of SP chief.

"Samajwadi Party workers have always wanted Akhilesh Yadav to become the Prime Minister of the country as he has the potential. Several development works were done by him when Akhilesh was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. People of Uttar Pradesh still remember him for the good works done under his tenure," Bhadouria said.

Uttar Pradesh Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Danish Azad Ansari attacked Samajwadi Party (SP) Chief Akhilesh Yadav over posters portraying the latter as "Future PM".

Ansari said that the Samajwadi party was daydreaming but the people had faith in PM Narendra Modi."There is a saying, 'Mungeri Lal Ke Haseen Sapne'. Nobody can stop anyone from daydreaming. But one should dream as per one's capability. Under PM Modi's leadership, our country is going ahead on the path of development", Ansari told ANI in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow.

BJP General Secretary Tarun Chugh took an opportunity to mock political parties constituting the INDIA bloc and said that there are already 18 contenders for the post of Prime Minister from the opposition alliance and Akhilesh Yadav has become the 19th candidate. "In the INDIA alliance already there are 18 people aspiring to become PM. In West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee wants to become the PM.

Nitish Kumar, KCR, and Stalin also want to become the PM. Everyone, be it Arvind Kejriwal or the family members of Lalu Yadav, or Akhilesh Yadav, everybody wants to become the PM. Now the 19th aspirant for PM has come. Let them come but all of them want to bring a crippled government into the country," Tarun Chugh said. On posters of Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav symbolising him as the 'Future PM' outside the Samajwadi Party Office, Union Minister Kaushal Kishore said, " Supporters of a particular party or a person will have something like this in their mind. Akhilesh will be happy that his workers are considering him as a PM candidate. Chiefs of every party in the INDIA alliance, see themselves as PM candidates and their supporters propose the same."

"People of the country trust PM Modi and the country will definitely elect PM Modi as the PM for the third time", he affirmed. Also, Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya said, "Since the INDIA alliance is made, workers of all the political parties want their party leader to be Prime Minister. As our leaders in INDIA (alliance) have said, first we will make a government of alliance, and who will be PM, we will decide by discussion. So first, let parliamentary elections happen."

Earlier Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav said that putting up posters is not an issue. "This is not an issue. People keep putting up posters. Sometimes, they portray me as 'Krishna' or Arjuna', this has no meaning," Tejashwi Yadav said.

"Akhilesh Yadav's birthday is on July 1, but to express their love and respect towards their leader Samajwadi Party workers celebrate his birthday multiple times. Today, some party leaders and workers are celebrating his birthday", said SP spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chaand while speaking to ANI in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow.

"Party workers are praying that Akhilesh Yadav becomes the PM of the country and serves the people," he added.

Akhilesh Yadav's SP is an ally in the INDIA bloc. The INDIA bloc is an alliance of 28 political parties, formed to take on the Bharatiya Janata Paty in the Lok Sabha polls in 2024. The alliance, however, has not declared the face of its Prime Ministerial candidate.

Earlier on Thursday, Akhilesh Yadav said that, now, he came to know that the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance is only confined to the national level and that if Congress behaves like this, who will stand with them?"If Congress didn't want to give seats (in MP), then they should have said it before. Today, SP is fighting only on seats. Now after Madhya Pradesh, I know that the INDIA alliance is for the (parliamentary) elections at the national level. If Congress continues to behave like this, then who will stand with them? If we will fight against the BJP with confusion in our minds, then we won't succeed," he said.