“By virtue of being the single largest party in Parliament, and also having the leader of opposition in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the fact that they have a pan-India footprint, which no other party can lay claim to, they are natural sort of leaders of an opposition movement,” the National Conference leader told PTI.

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“Yet there is a sense of disquiet among some of the allies because they feel the Congress is “not doing enough to justify it or to earn it or to keep it. That’s something the Congress might wish to consider,” he added.

Abdullah praised former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, describing her as a “leader of unparalleled stature” within the opposition alliance. 

“When the INDIA bloc comes together, she plays an important leadership role,” he added.

While not giving a direct answer to a question about INDIA bloc leaders Sharad Pawar or Lalu Prasad Yadav backing West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee as a better leader of the alliance, Abdullah highlighted the INDIA bloc’s “lack of consistent engagement,” warning that the coalition risks becoming a mere election-time convenience.

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‘INDIA bloc’s existence can’t be about 6 months before Parliament elections’: Abdullah

Expressing his concern over the bloc, Abdullah added,”Our existence can’t just be about six months before Parliament elections. Our existence has to be something more than that. The last time we met was when the Lok Sabha results had only just come out. There has been no formal or informal sort of work that has been done for the INDIA bloc.”

“You need to have a programme of regular interactions,” he explained, adding “not that you just come alive once Lok Sabha elections are announced and suddenly start talking and trying to work things out,” he added.