If there was one big takeaway from the much hyped Shivaji Park rally organised by the INDIA bloc in Mumbai on Sunday, it was the emergence of Rahul Gandhi as the most acceptable top leader for almost all leaders of the member parties of INDIA. Right from Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray to Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin, Kashmir' s Mehbooba Mufti and Kalpana Soren of Jharkhand, all the speakers addressed Rahul Gandhi as their leader and spoke of his two Bharat Jodo yatras in the past months as inspiring.
BJP's Concern Over INDIA Alliance
The ruling BJP-led alliance has always targeted INDIA, saying it looks rudderless and leaderless. That criticism perhaps got a jolt on Sunday evening, when opposition leaders stood united and seemed to accept Rahuls leadership like never before. The ruling party might be concerned about this mainly because this could be the concrete step to seal the deal in the final phase of the prolonged seatsharing talks among the constituents of the INDIA alliance.
Prakash Ambedkar's Inclusion In Grand Rally Sparks Political Dialogue
The presence of Prakash Ambedkar, chief of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) at the grand rally, was another talking point among the masses. The VBA took almost 4 per cent of the votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and Congress leaders say this division of votes cost them eight or nine seats in Maharashtra in 2019. This time, for the 2024 polls, it was Uddhav Thackeray who initiated a dialogue with Prakash Ambedkar.
Whether Ambedkar will be part of INDIA has been discussed for weeks in Mumbai. Prakash Ambedkars forceful attack over the recent electoral bond controversy and his appeal from the stage to Priyanka Gandhi, to highlight the plight of women, gave the impression that he was forthcoming of the leadership of the Gandhis.
Tejashwi Yadv's Entry Another Highlight Of The Rally
Former Bihar Minister Tejashwi Yadav was another attraction for the audience, as there was a huge crowd of Bihari migrants at the venue, who perhaps heard themselves being spoken for at the event. The stunning point in Rahuls speech was when he claimed that a very senior Congress leader from Maharashtra had come to his mother Sonia Gandhi and said he would be sent to jail unless he joined the BJP.
Rahul Gandhi's Allegations At INDIA Rally Stir Controversy
Many thought it was an obvious reference to former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan. Rahul also launched a frontal attack on how the recent defections from Sharad Pawar's NCP and Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena were allegedly engineered.
That resonated among the crowds. However, there was a degree of inefficiency evident in the overall coordination of the event too many people on the stage, unexpected song-and-dance shows that appeared out of place and spoilt the tempo, and the conclusion of the rally with Congress President Kharge's speech, which sounded listless, with the audience seen leaving even as Kharge was speaking.
But the overall picture that emerged was that of a major political achievement for Rahul Gandhi, who seemed to have shed his earlier image, looking highly confident at the conclusion of the second phase of his long Nyay Yatra.
