Striking a jubilant note on the eve of their third meeting to be held on Thursday, the leaders of the INDIA coalition claimed that their numbers are growing and that many more parties are lining up to join their ranks, but cautioned that admission would be regulated on the basis of consensus among the existing partners.
In Patna, where the Opposition coalition met for the first time in June, there were 15 parties, which grew to 26 at their second meeting in Bangalore in July. Now, in Mumbai, two more Maharashtra-based parties are set to join the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).
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One of the new joinees is the Peasants and Workers Party, whose president Jayant Patil shared the stage with the Maha Vikas Agadi (MVA) coalition partners — Nationalist Congress Party patriarch Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, and Ashok Chavan of the Congress — at a joint press conference. The name of the other new party remained elusive, with several leaders that The Hindu spoke to, unable to name their new partner.
Sources said that the INDIA bloc’s joint secretariat could be located at Surjeet Bhawan, which is owned by the Communist Party of India (Marxist). However, this proposal is likely to face a strong pushback from the Trinamool Congress.
‘Collective decision’
At the press conference, Mr. Pawar said that several other parties across the country want to join the INDIA bloc. Responding to pointed questions on why Muslim parties such as Telangana’s AIMIM (All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen) and Assam’s AIUDF (ALL India United Democratic Front) have not been included, he said that talks are on with everyone. “I can’t alone take a decision, it has to be a collective decision whether to allow them or not,” he said.
Asked whether Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati will find a place, Mr. Pawar said that her own inclination is not known, adding that the BJP’s pressure was making her stay away.
“I am confident that an alternative forum will be ready to bring a change in the country,” Mr. Pawar said. To insistent questions on his own allegiance, Mr. Pawar insisted that there was no doubt on his stand, adding that no other INDIA partner had any doubt about it either.
Poll arithmetic
The leaders exulted in the fact that the growing circle of anti-BJP parties could put them on sound ground, at least arithmetically. “In 2019, the votes polled for the 26 parties that constitute the current INDIA bloc was 23.40 crore while the BJP got 22.90 crores. We couldn’t mount a challenge to the BJP then because we stood divided. Today, we are all united,” senior Congress leader Mr. Chavan said.
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Mr. Thackeray, who is hosting the meeting, took a swipe at the Narendra Modi-led Union Cabinet’s decision to slash the price of LPG cylinders by ₹200, saying, “They are already feeling the heat and in the next coming days, as the INDIA alliance grows stronger, the government will be distributing the LPG cylinders for free.”
‘Several PM choices’
He also brushed away questions on the INDIA bloc’s likely convenor or its prime ministerial face. “We have several choices for the PM’s post but one should ask the BJP whether they really have a choice,” he said. “What choice does the BJP have except one? They have had one person for the past ten years and what has he done?”
Meanwhile, as the Opposition leaders streamed into the city, all roads leading to the meeting venue were plastered with INDIA posters. Giant hoardings sported the slogan “Judega Bharat, Jeetega INDIA”, adding to the mood of cheerful optimism. Outside the venue as well, bonhomie was on display, as Trinamool Congress president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the Bachchan household to tie a rakhi on super star Amitabh Bachchan, whose actor wife Jaya Bachchan is a Samajwadi Party MP in the Rajya Sabha. She later went to Matoshree, the Thackeray residence, to tie a rakhi on Uddhav Thackeray as well.
Coinciding with the INDIA meeting, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has also called a meeting of its Maharashtra MLAs and MPs in Mumbai.
