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.
"INDIA alliance is intact. INDIA alliance was formed to gather the regional parties against the BJP. Samajwadi party is still on the path to strengthening the INDIA alliance. It stands with the parties that are fighting against the BJP," Yadav said during a press conference in Lucknow.
The Opposition raised concerns that the change could disproportionately benefit the ruling party, giving it undue influence over the electoral process in states, and could undermine the autonomy of regional parties.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday said that the One Nation One Election (ONOE) is a conspiracy hatched by the BJP to finish off small regional parties which add strength to the India bloc.
"We had earlier predicted that the National political parties will not have much influence in the Maharashtra elections. I see the prediction is correct. Regional parties will be strengthened," VBA chief Prakash Ambedkar told ANI.
KTR pointed out that regional parties like the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal have successfully countered the influence of the BJP.
BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi further attacked Congress and said that the opposition party didn't give importance to small and regional parties. He suggested that Congress should learn from BJP and Narendra Modi in handling the allies.
Mayawati took the decision after a review meeting called to evaluate the election results of Haryana legislative assembly and Punjab elections conducted before that.
Azad also pointed out that the regional parties in the Union Territory are dividing the people based on religion and roads, schools and education are not an issue, but Islam is a danger--that is the issue.
Earlier today, the Cabinet approved 'One Nation, One Election' proposal, which proposes simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections, with urban body and panchayat polls to be held within 100 days.
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah said on Saturday said that BJP is keeing the door open for post-poll alliance with parties such as People's Conference and Apni Party
In the BJP Working Committee meeting held in Lucknow on Sunday, National President JP Nadda said that the Congress has become a "parasitic party" that needs the support of other regional parties to stand in public.