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Opposition grouping likely to be named Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance
People aware of the matter said former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray first mooted the name for the grouping in Patna
The grouping of Opposition parties seeking to forge a common platform to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2024 national elections is likely to be called Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), people aware of the matter said.
In an apparent hint to the name, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien tweeted, “Chak De! INDIA”. He did not elaborate.
To be sure, there was no official confirmation of the naming even as the name for the grouping was deliberated on Monday in informal discussions ahead of the meeting of the leaders of 26 opposition parties on Tuesday to discuss concrete measures for their unity in Bengaluru.
People aware of the matter said former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray first mooted a name for the grouping. At the first meeting of the grouping in Patna last month, he said they should not be called mere Opposition parties. He argued they have a constructive agenda and are patriotic and democratic in nature.
In his address at the meeting in Bengaluru on Tuesday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said his party is not interested in the Prime Minister’s post but in protecting the idea of India, the Constitution, secularism, and democracy. Kharge said there are differences among them at the state level. He added the differences can be put aside for the sake of protecting the people.
“...differences are not so big that we can’t overcome them for the benefit of common people who are suffering inflation. We can set aside our differences for the youth who are suffering from unemployment and for the poor, the Dalit, tribals, and the minorities whose rights are being crushed.”
Kharge said the 26 parties attending the meeting have substantial political strength as they govern 11 states. He underlined the importance of alliances. “The BJP did not get 303 seats [in 2019 polls] by itself. It used the votes of its allies and came to power and then discarded them,” he said. “Today, the BJP President and their leaders are running from state to state to patch up with their old allies.”
The second day of the Bengaluru meeting coincided with that of the rival ruling National Democratic Alliance. The parallel meetings of the Opposition and the ruling coalition also mark the return of coalition politics to the national centre stage just months before the general elections.
The first meeting of the Opposition grouping was held at Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s residence in Patna in June where all but one of the 15 attending parties vowed to jointly take on the BJP with a common agenda.
Acrimony between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress marked the Patna meeting. The AAP refused to attend the joint press conference in Patna. It asked the Congress to make its stance clear on a controversial ordinance that gave the Union government control over Delhi’s bureaucracy.
The Congress announced on Sunday that it will oppose the ordinance when it comes to Parliament during the monsoon session.
HT reported the parties in Patna largely agreed to field joint candidates against the BJP in as many seats as possible and create a common ideological platform.
Congress leader KC Venugopal on Monday said that seat arrangements between parties will not happen “in one, two or three meetings”. Many Opposition leaders are of the view that seat-sharing talks should happen at the state level as no pan-national pact would be possible among all Opposition parties.
