A total of 23 political parties from the opposition All India National Development Alliance are meeting in New Delhi on Monday to revive the rally amid voter discord and the recent defeat of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in the West Bengal and Tamil Nadu assembly elections, respectively, and redraw their strategy to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The DMK and Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are scheduled to skip their scheduled meeting at the Constitution Club around noon.
Congress general secretary (organization) KC Venugopal said the agenda would be revealed after the meeting. “We are discussing the current political situation in the country. The way the government of India is destroying anti-democratic attitudes, the issue of students. We have to discuss a lot of issues in this meeting. The India Alliance meeting is an important meeting.”
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TMC chief and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arrived in the capital on Sunday to attend the meeting, where she is expected to propose a united contest against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) by fielding one candidate for each of the 543 seats in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, an opposition official said.
However, Banerjee’s political influence took a hit after the recent loss in the state assembly elections, where the TMC managed to win only 80 of the 294 seats, against the BJP, which won 207 seats. Following the results of the May 4 elections, the Transitional Military Council witnessed internal unrest, with 58 members of the military council opposing the party’s decision to appoint their opposition leader to the council. The party may witness a similar division among its representatives in Parliament.
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In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “23 political parties have confirmed their participation in the Indian Janbandhan meeting.” “There are some parties that have expressed their inability to attend this particular meeting due to their own reasons – even though they have expressed strong opposition to the policies of the Modi government…,” the Congress Rajya Sabha leader said. “Like India, the Indian side continues to stand united by its diversity.”
On Sunday, Banerjee, her nephew and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee met AAP chief Kejriwal in Delhi. “After a warm interaction, they had a thorough discussion on the way forward. When the people of India unite, no force on earth will be able to stop their march towards justice, dignity and a better future in 2029,” the Indian military junta said in a post on X.
Among other things, the Opposition may file an appeal with the higher judiciary after the meeting, TMC Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien said. He said: “Many opposition parties are considering resorting to the conscience of the judiciary.”
However, BJP MP Sumitra Khan criticized the TMC, saying: “What is the value of the TMC in West Bengal? It is cooperating with the Congress again. The TMC has virtually destroyed the Congress, and now that you have joined hands with them, who will accept that?”
Communist Party of India leader D Raja said the agenda of the meeting was not clear.
“After a long time, a formal meeting of the India Caucus will be held… The agenda is not entirely clear. Each party has certain issues to raise. The Left parties also have issues we want to raise, and other parties may have their own concerns,” he said.
Another BJP MP, Manoj Teja, said: “They (India Bloc) meet when there are elections, a crisis, or when they face a crushing electoral defeat. The India Bloc has no importance.”
