Bansuri Swaraj's Comment on Rotational Opposition Leader Sparks Debate

BJP MP from New Delhi constituency Bansuri Swaraj replied to a journalist who had asked her if the post of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha was likely to be rotational saying, "Yes, I have also heard this. If the opposition feels that Rahul Gandhi is unable to handle the post of Leader of Opposition and they want to bring about a change in this way then it is their internal matter."

According to her, this is mainly a matter of concern for the opposition and that she has also heard of the idea of making the post rotational.
Her statement seems to have provoked debate as Samajwadi Party spokesperson Manoj Yadav questioned her authority to comment on whether the post should be made rotational.

"How can the BJP decide whether Rahul ji is doing his job or not? How many times does the Prime Minister himself attend the House? The primary responsibility of the Leader of the House is to listen to all voices. Sushma Swaraj wanted to become Prime Minister but did not happen. Perhaps Bansuri thinks that by targeting Rahul Gandhi, she can raise her profile and eventually shoot for the Prime Minister's post," Manoj Yadav told IANS.

The BJP MP's statement also directly points toward the looming Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections.

Since Congress has lost in Haryana, leaders in the opposition alliance INDIA bloc have been seen advising Congress or calling for a review of the loss.

Meanwhile, AAP leaders attacked Congress and Rahul Gandhi, saying if the opposition had fielded the election together by allocating seats properly, the outcome in Haryana would have perhaps been different.

AAP also announced that it will contest the Delhi Assembly elections scheduled soon as an independent party and confirmed that it would not be a part of any alliance in Delhi.

Shiv Sena, a Maharashtra ally of Congress, has also sought a re-examination of its defeat by Congress. In its mouthpiece Saamana, the party felt that Congress needs to draw lessons from election results in Haryana. According to the party, Congress has a penchant for turning victory into defeat.

CPI leader D Raja too aimed at Congress in his reaction: "If the INDIA bloc had fought together it would have certainly bifurcated the vote of Congress. The fact is, INDIA bloc made a mistake by not contesting together in the Haryana elections that worked for BJP. Now, it has to reflect very seriously on what is the approach that needs to be changed".

The Samajwadi Party, which had been kept out by Congress in Haryana, announced six candidates immediately for the by-elections on 10 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh the moment that the election results of Haryana were declared.

Some of these, according to reports, were the seats that Congress wanted to be allotted to itself. However, SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav later clarified that the SP-Congress alliance would continue in UP, but it remains uncertain how this will play out under the current circumstances.

As of fact, the seat of Majhawan, for which the state president of the Congress, Ajay Rai, wanted his son, Shantanu Rai, to contest, and another, the seat of Phulpur Sadar, over which Congress was also staking a claim, were admitted as candidates by the Samajwadi Party, effectively closing the door for Congress to contest the seats.

Subsequently, Congress decided to field a total of five but SP released the list of six ahead of Congress that took everyone by surprise. Of the remaining four, one already stands with SP and two are associated with the Rashtriya Lok Dal. SP may let go of Kundarki, Ghaziabad, and Khair constituencies in Aligarh to Congress.

SP is also preparing to take on the Meerapur seat in Muzaffarnagar, which was gifted to RLD after the alliance.
The statement from Bansuri Swaraj regarding the rotational LoP being seen against the bigger backdrop of tensions within the opposition alliance can well effect future political alignments.