The reasons a lot of people support Rafale has nothing to do with A2A capability. IMO the A2A capability on Rafale is probably adequate but the strike punch the Rafale can provide is way better than EF's. Unlike the EF, the Rafale does very well in the subsonic regime at low altitudes. It has an additional 2 wet points and carries quite a bit to very long distances.
The MKI is the jack of all trades, like the Rafale. The EF will beat both in the sky. The IAF wants to replace their Jags and Mig-27s with the MRCA. So, it is clear the IAF prefers the Rafale and this was mentioned twice by the IAF as far as I can remember. Let's not forget IAF rejected the Mi-28 and only Apache was shortlisted for contract negotiation in their attack helicopter tender. IAF could have done the same and just selected Rafale in the beginning. However, considering EF was shortlisted, we know IAF wouldn't mind their second best option as well.
Rafale was built as a ground attack aircraft like the F-35. EF was built with air superiority in mind. No matter which aircraft wins, the primary goal for IAF is to find replacements for their own ground attack aircraft. Now we can say, Rafale will win and things will go as planned. If EF wins, then it is possible some MKI squadrons will become the mud movers while EF will replace the MKIs role. It's all a big maybe because we don't have official IAF views on what either aircraft are meant to do when selected.
At a certain stage one has to look at how the military instrument will be used in case of conflict, the best way to employ it and then one might appreciate better the relative utility of the two candidates under examination.
A conflict involving India is likely to be characterised by extremely high threat scenarios over multiple fronts: north, west and from the sea. It is highly unlikely to imagine India as the aggressor. Having observed the effects of air power in the most recents campaigns in the Middle East and in the Balkans, one should assume the aggressor/(s) to want to achieve a decent level of air superiority in support of its/their surface manoeuvre. Without air superiority every operation would be more difficult and costly in overall casualties, and eventually it might fail. The airborne threat is expected to be extremely high, supported by ISR assets and the tempo of operations also very high to produce several breakthroughs.
It seems clear to me that the problem is very serious and that the solution hinges on the aspect of air superiority. This must be denied to the aggressor in the first place. And then air superiority must be established by the Indian forces. If this does not happen, there will not be much use for the A-G strike assets. Without air superiority no modern war has ever been won. The losing side in modern wars has never managed to achieve and maintain air superiority. This condition is ESSENTIAL and the key pre-requisite to win the air campaign and eventually the war.
So I would argue that a multirole fighter delivering the highest level of proficiency in the BVR air combat against a high threat scenario is the most appropriate response to the set of problems illustrated briefly above. Typhoon in the air-air role can suppress a threat fighter force quickly, allowing the specialist air-surface assets to operate to their maximum abilities; uncompromised by the need for self protection against air threats. Typhoon's swing role ability also allows it to start contributing to the air-surface battle sooner, even in the face of a residual air threat.
My impression is that with the MMRCA the IAF is not simply replacing some notional assets (say the MiG-21 and you can add the MiG-27 and Jaguar, if desired), but is moving down the path of transformation into three classes of combat planes: light, medium and heavy. All new assets will have to be multirole, adaptive and versatile, and ideally contributing with their own different areas of excellence.
I think Typhoon will fit pretty well in the evolving combat force structure of the IAF and the future threat scenarios, as it is multirole, versatile and adaptable, and with a huge growth capacity. Last but not least, its unique and unrivaled area of excellence is air superiority.