A tale of two cities — Bengaluru and Delhi — where battle lines were drawn and alliances were forged after months of parley.
In Bengaluru, a block of 26 parties came together for a 'united opposition' meeting to chalk out strategies to take on the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The opposition parties formally announced their alliance — The 'Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance' (INDIA) — at the culmination of their two-day meeting in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
"It is going to be INDIA vs NDA," AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge declared at the press conference after day-long deliberations held by leaders from the opposition parties. The Congress president also announced the formation of an 11-member core committee and a secretariat in New Delhi to take the initiative forward.
Kharge said that the road map will be drawn for the opposition alliance at its next meeting which is set to be held in Mumbai. He also said the leaders of the opposition alliance will travel across the country to expose the failures of the BJP government in the last nine years.
Furthermore, Khrage slammed the Centre for misusing agencies to target political opponents and attempts to destroy democracy and the Constitution. The parties also expressed their steadfast resolve to safeguard the idea of India as enshrined in the Constitution.
Ridiculing the BJP’s claim of 38 parties attending the NDA meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday, the Congress chief said he is unsure if those parties are registered with the Election Commission of India (ECI). He added that the opposition conclave that was attended by 16 parties in Patna on June 23 has increased to 26 setting the stage to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP to challenge INDIA, while senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said they are here to defend the voice of the country. "The fight is not between the two political formations, but between our idea of India and the BJP's and PM Narendra Modi’s idea of India," he said.
'New India, Development, Aspiration'
As the opposition parties put up a united front in Karnataka's capital, another meeting took centre stage somewhere 2,100 kilometres up north at the national capital.
Representatives from 38 parties along with the BJP congregated in Delhi to chalk out NDA's strategy, asserting that the alliance will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the NDA will secure over 50 per cent of the total votes polled in next year's Lok Sabha elections.
"The NDA got 38 per cent (of the total votes polled) in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Acknowledging the work that we put in to safeguard our national interests, people reposed their faith in us and gave us 45 per cent of the (total) vote share in the 2019 elections. All our alliance partners are working sincerely and dedicatedly, which gives me the confidence that we will get over 50 per cent vote share in 2024," he said.
Countering the Opposition parties, which named their alliance as 'INDIA', Modi said the NDA stands for "New India, Development, Aspiration."
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde proposed the NDA's resolution in the meeting while the AIADMK's K Palaniswami and the AGP's Atul Bora supported it. The resolution lauded the Modi government's pro-poor measures which, it added, has led to a sharp reduction in poverty.
It has been committed to social and economic upliftment of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, women and economically weaker sections of the society, it said.
It also mentioned India's "rising economic prowess on the global stage" and its emergence as a capable, strong, powerful and secure country under Modi's leadership.
The NDA leaders, who arrived for the meeting, also posed for a group photograph before going into a huddle. The meeting is part of the BJP's ongoing efforts to shore up the NDA and devise a joint strategy against the fledgeling grand Opposition alliance, 'INDIA', with an eye on next year's Lok Sabha elections.
(With inputs from K Shivakumar and Ramu Patil)
(Additional inputs from Online Desk, PTI, ANI)