Indian opposition unites under new name ahead of 2024 polls

India’s key opposition parties formed a new bloc on Tuesday as they firmed up their partnership ahead of the 2024 general election, where they will seek to oust the alliance headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.    

A 26-party opposition grouping unveiled its new name – the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) – at a meeting in Karnataka state capital Bengaluru. The group will bid to challenge the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is spearheaded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).   

INDIA will replace the Congress Party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), which was formed in 2004 under the chairmanship of former party chief, Sonia Gandhi. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge noted that opposition parties currently rule in 11 states. The veteran Congress leader ruled out his party’s ambitions for the position of prime minister, should the anti-NDA bloc wrest back power after two consecutive terms of Modi-led government. “We have gathered here to save our democracy and the constitution. This is a collective fight against unemployment, inflation, and other key issues that the country is dealing with,” Kharge declared. 

Opposition leaders have opted to form an 11-member coordination committee, whose composition will be decided during its next meeting in Mumbai at an undetermined date. A secretariat for campaign management will be set up in New Delhi, and will be tasked with effective seat-sharing for next year’s election on a state-by-state basis. The parties issued a joint statement citing their aim to save the nation from the BJP’s “misrule.” Several opposition leaders have been targeted by the Modi administration through federal law enforcement agencies, but have described the charges as trumped-up.   

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, a former NDA ally and a guiding force behind the opposition alliance, hit out at Modi, while Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ended months of uncertainty by joining the opposition. “Nine years ago, the people of India made the PM win with a huge mandate. The BJP got a lot of opportunities to develop the country. But none of the sectors has benefited. They have destroyed everything. …we have to save the country,” Kejriwal said. 

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi – who was disqualified as an MP following his conviction in a 2019 criminal defamation case, when he made a remark over the ‘Modi’ surname – spoke out about crony capitalism. “The country’s wealth is going in the hands of a select few. The fight is about two different ideas of India. The fight is for the voice of the country. It’s a fight between NDA and INDIA, Narendra Modi and INDIA, his ideology, and INDIA. India always wins all fights,” Gandhi insisted.   

Modi had taken a swipe at the Gandhi family earlier on Tuesday, stating: “For them, family is first, nation is nothing. Corruption is their motivation. The bigger the scam, the more corrupt the person, the higher their seat at the table.” He added that “democracy means ‘of the people, by the people, for the people’. But the opposition’s mantra is – of the family, by the family, for the family.”

Later in the evening, the BJP responded to the opposition’s show of unity with its own gathering of 38 parties — many of which do not have any representation in parliament — at the Ashoka Hotel in New Delhi, attended by Modi.