Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said that the Opposition INDIA bloc is intact, The Indian Express reported.

His statement came amid discussions within the alliance about its leadership and the role of the Congress. It also came days after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called for clarity on the future of the INDIA bloc.

The Samajwadi Party and Abdullah’s National Conference are part of the INDIA bloc at the national level.

“Samajwadi Party is still following the same path to strengthen INDIA alliance,” Yadav told reporters on Sunday.

“Only that regional party should take on the BJP which is fighting with it already,” he said, adding that other outfits must be seen to be standing with that party.

Last week, the Samajwadi Party extended support to the Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi Assembly election slated to be held on February 8. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party and the Congress are contesting the election separately, even though they are both members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.

Abdullah said on January 9 that the alliance should either work together or disband if its purpose was limited to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Abdullah urged the members of the bloc to convene a meeting after the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections to resolve its objectives.

The National Conference leader said that the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and other political parties should decide how they can effectively fight the BJP.

A day earlier, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav said that the INDIA bloc was formed solely to counter the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in the Lok Sabha polls. “The alliance had no significance beyond that,” he said.

Adding to the discord, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) also announced on Saturday that it would be contesting the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra alone.