Opposition Parties’ Front Has a New Name: ‘INDIA’, Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance

Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta

The opposition front comprising 26 parties has a new name: INDIA, which stands for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance. All 26 parties have mutually agreed to this new name for one of the largest opposition fronts since independence.

The name was agreed upon at the opposition parties’ second meeting held in Bengaluru on July 18. The first meeting was held in Patna on June 23.

Sources told The Wire that there were some reservations regarding having the word ‘alliance’ in the new name, given the uncertainty over seat sharing in a few states, but eventually agreed to the term to send a message that all the parties have common ideological concerns against the ruling BJP.

INDIA, opposition leaders believe, will assert the front’s conviction to “safeguard democracy, constitution, and diversity” – the stated goal of the opposition front.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is believed to have been instrumental in convincing the few parties which had some reservations about the name to come on board.

In a tweet, Kharge indicated that a majority of the differences were largely ironed out during the opposition summit in Bengaluru. He hit out at the parallel NDA meeting in New Delhi and said that the opposition resolve to unitedly take on the BJP in 2024 has forced the BJP to “patch up” with its older allies that it had deserted earlier.

Addressing the press after the four-hour long meeting, Kharge who also chaired the discussions on Tuesday, said that the name for the opposition front was agreed upon by every party unanimously after discussions and reflects the larger philosophy behind the “coming together” of the opposition parties. “This was a very important meeting to save democracy and our Constitution. We have all come together in the interests of the Indian people,” he said, while elaborating on how diverse political parties, despite their differences, have joined ranks.

A majority of the leaders were present at the stage, barring the Bihar and Kashmir leaders like Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, who rushed to catch their flights soon after the meeting got over.

Kharge also said that while a name for the alliance was decided in Bengaluru, a third such meeting of the 26 parties will soon take place in Mumbai where remaining details will be finalised.

“A 11-member coordination committee will be set up in Mumbai…A central secretariat will also be set up for campaign management and joint rallies and action there. The secretariat will work out of Delhi,” Kharge said.

The 11-member coordination committee will be representative of all parties and will decide the future course of electoral and political strategy including communication points, joint rallies, seat-sharing and other such aspects of the opposition front. Kharge added that the front will choose its president and convenor at the Mumbai meeting.

He emphasised that the leaders have not come together for power or to “attain something” but to “save democracy”.

“Our leaders have shown that they can come together to protect the interests of Indian people,” he said.

The opposition front also adopted a joint resolution that deftly accommodates the political agendas of different participants. It raises concerns over alleged attacks on India’s federal structure, Modi government’s alleged failures on the economic front, and misuse of gubernatorial offices and central investigation agencies – a criticism that parties like the Congress, DMK, TMC and AAP have constantly been raising. It hits out on the increasing attacks on Dalits, Adivasis and working classes, farmers and farm labourers – a point that is integral to the politics of parties like VCK in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Left parties that are part of the INDIA front.

At the same time, the resolution pledged to advocate for a pan-Indian caste census that has been raised by socialist parties like SP, RJD and JD(U).

The way the resolution has accommodated varied political interests of both national and regional parties is reflective of the unprecedented unity that the opposition leaders, many of whom have been traditional rivals, have achieved in a few months.

The resolution also shows the flexibility and resolve that each opposition party has shown in trying to forge a united front.

All the other four leaders – Uddhav Thackeray, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi – who spoke after Kharge highlighted that the opposition’s fight against BJP will be along ideological lines.

“We have taken up this challenge. BJP, can you challenge INDIA?” Banerjee asked.

Kejriwal and Thackeray spoke about how INDIA will be a joint challenge of democratic people to the authoritarian ways of the Modi government. Kejriwal said that the front will highlight how the Modi government has snatched away people’s resources to distribute it among a few rich people, even as the prime minister has failed to deliver on every front over the last nine years.

Thackeray exhorted people “not to fear” the Modi government anymore. “We are here. Don’t fear anything,” he said.

At the end, Rahul Gandhi asserted: “Our fight is against BJP’s ideology and its thinking. We have named our front INDIA because our India is under attack and we realised that the fight is not between two political formations. The fight is between two different ideas of India.”

The full text of the opposition resolution adopted on Tuesday is given below.

Joint Statement Issued by 26 Opposition Parties’ Meeting in Bangalore

We, the undersigned leaders of India’s 26 progressive parties, express our steadfast resolve to safeguard the idea of India as enshrined in the Constitution. The character of our republic is being severely assaulted in a systematic manner by the BJP. We are at a most crucial juncture in our nation’s history. The foundational pillars of the Indian Constitution – secular democracy, economic sovereignty, social justice and federalism – are being methodically and menacingly undermined.

We express our grave concern over the humanitarian tragedy that has destroyed Manipur. The silence of the Prime Minister is shocking and unprecedented. There is an urgent need to bring Manipur back on the path of peace and reconciliation.

We are determined to combat and confront the continuing assault on the Constitution and on constitutional rights of democratically elected state governments. There is a deliberate attempt to weaken the federal structure of our polity. The role of Governors & LGs in non-BJP ruled states has exceeded all constitutional norms. The brazen misuse of agencies by the BJP government against political rivals is undermining our democracy. Legitimate needs, requirements and entitlements of non BJP ruled states are being actively denied by the Centre.

We reinforce our resolve to confront the grave economic crisis of ever-rising prices of essential commodities and record unemployment. Demonetisation brought with it untold misery to the MSME and unorganised sectors, resulting in large scale unemployment among our youth. We oppose the reckless sale of the nation’s wealth to favored friends. We must build a fair economy with a strong and strategic public sector as well as a competitive and flourishing private sector, in which the spirit of enterprise is fostered and given every opportunity to expand. The welfare of Kisan and Khet Mazdur should always get the highest priority.

We have come together to defeat the hatred and violence being manufactured against minorities; stop the rising crimes against women, Dalits, Adivasis and Kashmiri Pandits; demand a fair hearing for all socially, educationally and economically backward communities; and, as a first step, implement the Caste Census.

We resolve to fight the systemic conspiracy by BJP to target, persecute and suppress our fellow Indians. Their poisonous campaign of hate has led to vicious violence against all those opposed to the ruling party and its divisive ideology. These attacks are not only violating constitutional rights and freedoms but also eroding the basic values upon which the Republic of India is founded – Liberty, Equality and Fraternity and Justice – Political, Economic and Social. The repeated attempts by the BJP to vitiate public discourse by reinventing and rewriting Indian history are an affront to social harmony.

We pledge to present to the nation an alternative political, social and economic agenda. We promise to transform both the substance and style of governance that will be more consultative, democratic and participative.

Jai Hind

(Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta is Political Affairs Editor at The Wire. Courtesy: The Wire.)

❈ ❈ ❈

In another article, also published in ‘The Wire’, Sumeer Mathur adds:

‘INDIA’ May Be the Finest Hour of Identity Politics in Our Country

In medieval warfare, choosing a battlefield was critical. It played a dual role: aiding attacks and strengthening the defence. Political slogans play a similar role in the electoral battlefield. They not only pitch what a political party or formation believes in, but the truly great ones also serve as bulwarks of defence as well. “Yes, we can”; “Make America Great Again”; “Congress ka haath, aam admi ke saath” and “Acche Din” are statements that make it hard for anyone to oppose and counter.

On this count, the naming of the joint alliance of 26 political parties as “INDIA” – short for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance – serves this dual purpose amply. It brings alive the intended message and pitches naysayers as anti-India – not a good place to be for a government that equates itself and its leaders with the country.

At the most basic level, political slogans must be easily repeatable taglines. But for political slogans to truly do valuable political work, they need to resonate with the main campaign message. The main message for the opposition from all their statements in the last few months is inclusivity and safeguarding the constitutional idea of India. Let’s see how this stacks up.

The path to inclusivity is usually one of purging one’s identity. However, this slogan takes a different route, one of claiming an identity. Political parties whose names are based on identity are not new. Bahujan Samaj Party, Aam Admi Party, Akali Dal, Shiv Sena, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and many others have identity at their very core, signalling that they speak for the interests of a particular group. And this makes sense. India is a nation of many identities – regional, linguistic, ethnic, caste and geographical. Some would say we only see ourselves in relation to the other.

With the name INDIA, the political parties have chosen an identity that is all-inclusive, and levels the playing field. It’s a term as applicable to the farmer in Bellary as it is to the Carter Road resident, a mechanic in Amritsar and the businessman in Assam.

In fact, this may be the finest hour of identity politics in our country. For too long, it’s been used to divide, to set one group against the other, to create others out of neighbours.

Being an ‘Indian’ is a citizen’s purest identity, where differences dissolve and get subsumed. For a coalition built on the plan of inclusivity, it exemplifies what it sets out to achieve. It addresses all voters and positions the coalition as their party. It achieves linguistically what the Bharat Jodo Yatra aimed for on foot.

The “two Indias” discourse that’s gained currency recently is an internal two-nation theory that we do not need. It’s been born of a gated mindset that seeks to keep the citizenry out whenever convenient. It allows us to view the glass as half full or half empty – depending on our argument – and creates feel-good platitudes without addressing issues that the people are facing.

To quote Article 1 of the constitution of India:

“India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.”

And it’s time this internal two-nation theory is given a swift burial. The government is of all people, by all people and for all people who are Indians. So clearly the constitutional idea of India is one where Bharat = India!

Political slogans also signal how much fight you have left and for an opposition seen as beleaguered, beaten and without any new tricks, this slogan is an adrenalin shot – especially as the NDA is more media savvy and has been running circles around the opposition whenever required. On this count, the coinage wins as the announcement caught the eye of voters and the media has been forced to headline it – for novelty, if not praise.

The fact that we are on the verge of a cricket world cup where stadiums full of people will chant “India, India” is an added bonus. That won’t be missed by spin doctors on either side.

(Sumeer Mathur is a brand strategist with over two decades of experience.)