After Omar criticism of INDIA, Raut questions MVA relevance
What's the story
The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance is reeling from internal discord after its recent assembly election defeat.
The turmoil has been exacerbated by Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah questioning the relevance of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has proposed that his party and other MVA members should contest upcoming municipal and zilla parishad polls independently, a sentiment shared by Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar.
Leadership concerns
MVA leaders express dissatisfaction over alliance's functioning
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has expressed his displeasure over the MVA leadership's failure to call a meeting post-election.
Raut has openly questioned the relevance of the alliance, while Wadettiwar alleged a "big conspiracy" against Congress due to delays in finalizing seats.
He said meetings were called for 11:00am but some leaders would come at 2:00pm hinting these delays could be part of a larger plan.
Party criticisms
Raut and Kolhe criticize Congress and Shiv Sena's performance
Raut denied Wadettiwar's claims, saying those who came late for meetings were known to the latter.
He also slammed Congress for not giving up some seats in Vidarbha, which he said delayed discussions.
Meanwhile, NCP MP Amol Kolhe took aim at both Congress and Shiv Sena in an internal meeting.
He alleged that the Congress's "broken back has not yet straightened" and Shiv Sena is still inactive.
Internal disputes
Wadettiwar advises Kolhe to focus on his own party
In response to Kolhe's criticisms, Wadettiwar advised him to "focus on his party rather than worry about Congress."
The lack of coordination among MVA members is reflective of problems in the INDIA bloc, Abdullah and Rashtriya Janata Dal politician Tejashwi Yadav observed.
Raut blamed Congress for not having enough dialogue among coalition partners.
He said while the INDIA bloc did well in the Lok Sabha election, it had no role in the recent assembly election where MVA's performance was poor.