Hours ahead of a review meeting to discuss the RJD-led Grand Alliance's rout in the Lok Sabha polls in Bihar, jailed RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Tuesday, 28 May, advised Congress President Rahul Gandhi not to resign from the post, calling his offer "suicidal".
“Rahul’s offer to resign is suicidal. Opposition parties had the common goal to dislodge BJP but failed to build a national narrative. The result in a particular election can never alter the reality in as diverse and plural a country as India,” said Lalu Prasad in a tweet.
The RJD President, who is undergoing treatment at a government hospital in Ranchi after being convicted in fodder scam cases, was reportedly disturbed for last few days after his party's poll rout in Bihar and Jharkhand.
However, he asked Rahul to "continue to lead the Congress".
Lalu said that if the Congress appointed a non-Gandhi as its president, it would be accused of being a Gandhi family "puppet". "Why should Rahul give such an opportunity to his political rivals?" he said.
Referring to humiliating defeat of the Opposition parties in the elections, the RJD leader said the Opposition should admit that the resounding victory of the Modi government was its collective failure and should introspect on what went wrong.
He said the Opposition parties failed to synchronise their strategies and actions leading to the absence of a national narrative for the public.
"No clear prime ministerial candidate emerged from the Opposition against Narendra Modi. The opposition could not choose one 'dulha' (groom) for its 'baraat' (wedding procession)," he pointed out.
Lalu said that the Opposition should have collectively projected Rahul as its prime ministerial candidate.
"There was nothing wrong in regional parties bargaining for more seats, but they should not have made the strategic blunder of not projecting someone without a national perspective as their prime ministerial candidate," he said.
"Laluji understands the importance of Rahul and his family in leading the Congress. It was he who defended and backed Sonia Gandhi, when the issue of her foreign origin was raked up by the RSS and the BJP. Congress minus Rahul will be party without the glue to hold it together," RJD spokesperson Shakti Yadav said.
Senior RJD leader Shivanand Tiwary said Lalu has rightly advised Rahul.
"If the Opposition is keen to counter the BJP and defeat it, Rahul should continue to lead the Congress and the Opposition," he said.
(Published in arrangement with IANS)
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