Regional parties in INDIA bloc want us to stay on back foot: Congress MP Imran Masood

New Delhi [India], February 13 (ANI): Congress MP Imran Masood on Thursday indicated that the unity of the INDIA bloc should not be at the expense of his party. He added that many regional parties want Congress to stay on the back foot.
"The question about the future of the INDIA alliance concerns everyone. It cannot be that you will suppress Congress," Masood told ANI.
"The regional parties want Congress to stay on the back foot. We take everyone along regarding the national agenda, but we cannot dissolve our party," he added.
The INDIA bloc has suffered a major setback after facing a crushing defeat in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election. In the recent Delhi Assembly election Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress contested separately, though they were part of the INDIA bloc.
Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, on Tuesday, said that the alliance will have to sit together and work meticulously to make things out.
Speaking about the Congress, Sibal stated that the party always tries to work together and to move ahead with consent. He, however, also admitted that sometimes the alliance faces problems citing the example of the 2020 Bihar assembly elections, where a dismal show by Congress prevented the 'Mahagathbandhan' from reaching the majority.
"Congress party always tries to work together and to move ahead with consent. This is true that there are problems at times. In the last election in Bihar, Congress were given seats but they could not win and RJD said that they could not come to power because of Congress. All the parties (of the INDIA alliance) will have to decide how to contest elections," Sibal said while addressing a press conference.
The BJP stormed to power in the Delhi polls on February 8, winning a two-thirds majority. The ruling AAP suffered major losses, witnessing a significant reduction in its numbers in the 70-member assembly, while the Congress continued its downward trend.
Prior to this, BJP also registered strong victories in Haryana and Maharashtra upsetting the Opposition's chances of sustaining the momentum of Lok Sabha election results. (ANI)