Parliament's ongoing Winter Session is seeing repeated adjournments, but it's also witnessing a battle within the Opposition INDIA bloc over its leadership.
After Mamata Banerjee signalled her readiness to take charge of the INDIA bloc, several opposition parties have come out in her support.
First, Mamata received support from veteran parliamentarian Sharad Pawar. Then Lalu Prasad openly came out in Mamata's favour. The Samajwadi Party too wants INDIA bloc's leadership to change hands. Even Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena UBT is open to the idea of Mamata giving direction to the opposition.
Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSRCP, which had distanced itself from I.N.D.I.A during the Lok Sabha elections, has backed Mamata Banerjee.
So it would seem that the writing is on the wall for Rahul Gandhi, especially after the back to back losses to the BJP in Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections.
The Congress, which has 99 MPs in the Lok Sabha, is eager to project Rahul Gandhi as the leader of Opposition, even outside the House.
But with several I.N.D.I.A parties looking towards Mamata Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi may find himself in a diminished position.
