Meeting to plan their strategy for the 2029 national elections, 23 parties from the Indian Inclusive Development Alliance (INDIA) bloc on Monday sought to present a united front and launched a scathing attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which it accused of “stealing” the recent state elections.
The bloc, which was meeting after the last round of state elections in which the BJP won a stunning victory against the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, also recognized the Congress as the “glue” holding the divided opposition together. None of the leaders criticized the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which did not attend, perhaps to keep hopes of future coordination alive.
Addressing a press conference at the end of the meeting, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the India Caucus has decided to write to the Chief Justice of India on the Special Intensified Review (SIR), hold more frequent meetings, demand resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam leaks, continue coordination in Parliament and ask the central government to convene an all-party meeting to discuss people-centric issues.
“It has been agreed that a letter will be sent to the Chief Justice of India regarding SIR, vote looting and election theft. The letter is scheduled to be delivered to the Chief Justice of India very soon,” he said.
“It was unanimously agreed to demand the immediate resignation of the Education Minister as he oversaw the betrayal of thousands of youth who appeared for NEET and CBSE exams,” the Congress leader said.
Karg also said that the India bloc leaders have decided to meet every two months to review national policies and coordinate strategy. The next meeting of the group is scheduled to be held in Hyderabad on August 8.
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who spoke last, told the closed-door meeting that “Mamata Banerjee is 90% sure the election was stolen. Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav are 40% sure their elections were stolen. I am 100% sure the election was stolen.”
Gandhi also warned of an impending domestic “economic catastrophe”, stressing that the government was vulnerable and that the opposition must prepare to mobilize popular support.
In a rare and candid introspection, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav told leaders that it was a mistake to allow former Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to leave the alliance and not offer him the role of coordinator sooner.
But the meeting also revealed divisions within the anti-incumbency bloc.
According to people present at the meeting, regional rivalries briefly came to light when Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John confronted Prithas Gandhi over the narrative of the Congress campaign in Kerala, where the two parties are competing.
Prithas challenged Congress’ claims that his party maintains a hidden pact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. Gandhi responded, according to those present: “We were fighting elections in Kerala.” “Do you expect me to hug your Prime Minister?”
Several leaders expressed solidarity with TMC chief Mamata Banerjee following her party’s defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections and continued defection of legislators, MLAs and MPs from her party.
She spoke at length about efforts by constitutional authorities to influence state elections and compared how former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi organized a massive political battle in 1979 to return to power in the national elections the following year.
“We must stand strongly united,” she said. “Forget the past and let Congress decide coordination.”
Mamata also suggested that Indian parties should not criticize each other.
Several other leaders spoke out about the atrocities targeting TMC in West Bengal including the attack on TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee. Uddhav Thackeray, who joined the meeting virtually with Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, said Abhishek was injured in a recent attack, but no hospital had agreed to admit him.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, the first to speak after Karji clarified the political situation in the state, said the BJP won the by-elections in UP, including Ayodhya, by cheating.
He said lessons learned from the past include “the need for unity among coalition partners,” and appealed to Congress to show big heart in the future.
He then turned to Mamata Banerjee and said: “If you think she lost, you are wrong. She has been robbed by the Election Commission, the Central Powers and the BJP.”
A second leader who was present at the meeting said that Yadav stressed that the Congress should support the strongest regional party in the state.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, who spoke after Akhilesh, stressed the strategy of getting going and focusing on the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray suggested that the India group meet frequently. “The learning from the recent India meeting is that we need good coordination. These 23 parties must come forward as India unites,” Thackeray said, while praising Mamata Banerjee for fighting like a tigress.
Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Supriya Sule also stressed on unity and stated that the MVA’s allies – Congress, Sena (UBT) and Congress Party (SP) – were doing very well in Maharashtra.
Before the meeting began, Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee spoke for about 10 minutes and also hugged each other.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was one of the most optimistic voices at the meeting. “Reflection must be done collectively. We have already achieved something big. Let us not sit in this hall gloomy. The last time we sat, there was no minority government. Now we have reduced Narendra Modi’s government to a minority government of just 240 MPs. Let us look forward to 2029, and let us acknowledge that Congress is the glue that holds India together,” Abdullah said.
A senior TMC leader pointed out that no leader used the word bloc or alliance and everyone referred to the group as India. PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti even suggested that the group should find a social media presence as “Parties of India”.
CPI-ML leader Dipankar Bhattacharya said: “So far we are just an idea. Let us make this an identity.” He also pointed out that after SIR and disenfranchisement, thousands of people will not receive government benefits.
