Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance is the most likely name for the opposition alliance

 

According to some with knowledge of the situation, the coalition of opposition parties hoping to create a united front to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the national elections of 2024 will probably go by the name Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

Derek O'Brien, the head of the Trinamool Congress, tweeted "Chak De! INDIA" in what appeared to be a hint to the name. He said nothing further.

Even though the name for the coalition was decided upon on Monday during informal meetings, there has been no official confirmation of the name as of yet. On Tuesday, the leaders of 26 opposition parties will meet in Bengaluru to discuss specific steps they might take to strengthen their unity.

According to those in the know, Uddhav Thackeray, the former chief minister of Maharashtra, suggested the name for the organization originally. He argued that they shouldn't be referred to as simple opposition parties at the group's first meeting last month in Patna. They are patriotic and democratic in nature, according to him, and have a positive goal.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge stated in his speech at the gathering in Bengaluru on Tuesday that his party is more concerned with defending the idea of India, the Constitution, secularism, and democracy than it is with the position of Prime Minister. At the state level, according to Kharge, there are distinctions between them. He emphasized that in order to safeguard the populace, differences could be set aside.

"...differences are not so great that we can't go around them to help the average person who is suffering from inflation. For the benefit of the unemployed youth, the underprivileged, Dalits, tribal people, and other minorities whose rights are being violated, we can put aside our disagreements.

Given that they control 11 states, the 26 parties represented at the meeting, according to Kharge, have significant political clout. He emphasized the value of alliances. "The BJP did not win 303 seats in the 2019 elections on its own. It gained power by counting the votes of its allies and then threw them out," he remarked. The president of the BJP and other BJP officials are currently visiting former allies in different states.

The rival ruling National Democratic Alliance held its own meeting on the same day as the second day of the Bengaluru summit. Just months before the general elections, the concurrent meetings of the opposition and the ruling coalition also signal the return of coalition politics to the public spotlight.

All but one of the 15 parties present at the Opposition grouping's inaugural meeting in June at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's home in Patna agreed to work together to confront the BJP with a shared agenda.

The Patna gathering was characterized by hostility between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress. The joint press conference in Patna was boycotted by the AAP. A contentious ordinance that handed the Union government jurisdiction over Delhi's bureaucracy was the subject of a request for Congress to state its position.

On Sunday, the Congress declared that it will vote against the order in Parliament during the monsoon session.

According to HT, the parties in Patna generally decided to develop a unified ideological platform and run joint candidates against the BJP in as many seats as feasible.

According to Congress leader KC Venugopal, seat agreements between parties won't be reached "in one, two, or three meetings." Many opposition leaders believe that seat-sharing negotiations should take place at the state level because an all-out alliance of opposition parties is not feasible.