Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav welcomed upon his arrival ahead of the meeting of I.N.D.I.A leaders in Mumbai.
Credit: PTI Photo
The I.N.D.I.A bloc comprising of 26 members, is scheduled to meet in Mumbai on August 31 and September 1 to discuss their plan of action for the Lok Sabha election in 2024. This will mark the third meeting of the alliance following previous meets in Patna and Bengaluru.
What happened in the first opposition meet in Bihar?
The first opposition meet took place on June 23 in Bihar.
The meeting saw a collective effort by opposition parties to unite against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
The meet was attended by several parties including Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shiv Sena (UBT), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Samajwadi Party (SP), National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), CPI, CPM, CPI ML, Janata Dal United (JDU), and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
However, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was notably absent from the meeting in Bihar.
During the meeting, the opposition party leaders made critical comments about the BJP and released a joint statement stating their intention to unite against the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Reacting to the opposition meeting, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said, “Today a photo session is underway in Patna. They (the Opposition) want to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NDA. I want to tell them that PM Modi will form his government in the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls with more than 300 seats.”
Although the Patna meeting did not result in a total consensus, Rahul Gandhi had said all opposition parties would work together to defeat the BJP in the 2024 general elections.
What happened in the second opposition meet in Bengaluru?
The second opposition meeting was held in Bengaluru on July 18, with an increase in participating parties from 17 in Patna to 26 in Bengaluru.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had announced that the 26-party alliance would be called Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A).
Reacting to the alliance name, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell head Amit Malviya said that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) had become "synonymous with corruption and regressive politics" and the new name won't make the regrouping any more credible.
After the opposition meet in Bengaluru, a meeting was also held by the BJP's National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which saw the attendance of 38 parties, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“You have now remembered NDA only after we 26 (Opposition) parties came together in Patna and Bengaluru as I.N.D.I.A for the country. It is only after our meetings that your lotus (BJP's party symbol) started blooming," criticised Shiv Sena MP, Sanjay Raut.
The original suggestion for the alliance name was 'Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance', but the word 'democratic' was replaced with 'developmental' after some leaders felt it sounded too similar to the ruling NDA.
According to reports, during the meeting where names were being suggested, Mamata Banerjee was the first person to suggest the name 'I.N.D.I.A'. While some leaders were in favor of other names. However, eventually everyone agreed on the name 'I.N.D.I.A'.
What to expect from the third opposition meeting?
The upcoming third meeting of I.N.D.I.A is scheduled for August 31-September 1 at Grand Hyatt in Mumbai. A new logo for the I.N.D.I.A bloc would be unveiled during the two-day meeting, along with the announcement of a coordination committee.
The alliance members would also be addressing the matter of appointing a coordinator or chairperson to lead the alliance.
Additionally, there will be discussions on the potential inclusion of a few more parties.
"The Mumbai meeting shall come out with a clear-cut roadmap for providing a progressive alternative to the regressive policies of the current regime," RJD's Manoj Jha told PTI.
The I.N.D.I.A bloc has released their schedule for their meeting in Mumbai.
According to reports, probable delegates to attend the meeting include Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Manoj Jha, Tejaswi Yadav, Farooq Abdullah, Sharad Pawar and Akhilesh Yadav, among others.