I.N.D.I.A two-day meet in Mumbai: All you need to know

Sixty-plus representatives from 28 political parties attended the meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) held on August 31 and September 1 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Mumbai. 

The top agendas discussed in the meeting were to finalise the logo, form a coordination committee, and prepare a joint action plan for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Many leaders of opposition I.N.D.I.A are optimistic about the alliance and intend to be a formidable opponent for the government. The other point discussed in this meeting was the appointment of a spokesperson. Besides the coordination committee, there will be four sub-groups to plan the campaign and rallies, handle social media and manage the data.

Many important political personalities like the deputy chief minister of Bihar,  Tejashwi Yadav,  Mamata Banerjee, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann, Nitish Kumar, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were in attendance for this meet held in Mumbai. All these members attended a dinner hosted by Uddhav Thackeray.

I.N.D.I.A held a press conference and all of them seemed confident of this union. NCP leader Sharad Pawar feels confident that the opposition alliance will provide a formidable alternative to bring about a political change in the country. He said there has been no discussion on seat sharing within the INDIA alliance.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, "India will be our PM face. Our primary concern is to save the country." Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders underlined that this should be the last meeting of the Opposition alliance so that the parties could start working in their respective states.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was impressed at how differences were kept aside in the meeting. He said, “We need to propose a clear set of ideas to benefit farmers and poor people. The real work in this alliance is the relationship forged between the leaders. I can say the two meetings have helped immensely to build a rapport and we work as one team. There are differences but I can see flexibilities.”

A resolution was passed in the meeting. It stated, we, the INDIA parties, hereby resolve to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections together as far as possible. Seat-sharing arrangements in different states will be initiated immediately and concluded at the earliest in a collaborative spirit of give-and-take. Parties will organise public rallies at the earliest in different parts of the country on issues of public concern and importance. I.N.D.I.A decided to coordinate amongst its members on political communication and media strategies under the campaign theme ‘Judega Bharat, Jitega India’ in different languages.