INDIA alliance: 5 key events between Bengaluru and Mumbai meetings

Between the July 17-18 Bengaluru conclave and the Mumbai conclave slated to open on Thursday (August 31), much has happened. The weeks in between have been quite eventful, not just for the Opposition INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) alliance, but also for its rival BJP, and the nation at large.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress, has formed several committees to plan various aspects of INDIA’s Mumbai conclave. The committees, which include two leaders from each of the three parties, will take care of media, social media, accommodation, and transport, among other things,

The Congress will handle media and publicity, while the NCP will take care of transport. The Shiv Sena (UBT) will look after accommodation. More than 200 rooms have been booked in the Grand Hyatt hotel for the conclave.

The Federal recaps the five events of the past six weeks that may shape how the INDIA meeting shapes up over Thursday-Friday.

1. The Supreme Court restored Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Parliament membership. The Wayanad MP, who has been a vocal critic of the BJP-led government, had been disqualified from Parliament in the Modi surname case. Having Rahul back in Parliament is a definite plus for the Opposition.
2. Just days after the Opposition’s Bengaluru meet, a video of two women being paraded naked by a rioting mob in Manipur emerged to the horror of the entire nation. Opposition parties led by the Congress have slammed the BJP governments, both at the Centre and Manipur. The incident brought the violence in Manipur to national focus.
3. Violence flared up in yet another BJP-ruled state — Haryana. The Nuh violence gives more ammunition to the Opposition’s accusations of misgovernance by the ruling party.
4. The caste census issue has grown in proportion in recent weeks. The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar is initiating steps for a caste-based enumeration in that state. In poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, Congress president
   Mallikarjun Kharge promised a caste enumeration if the party won the assembly election there. In Mumbai this week, the INDIA partners are likely to discuss the issue in greater detail.
5. The INDIA bloc has had its share of trouble, too. The split in the NCP happened just ahead of the Bengaluru meet and, six weeks down, the uncertainty continues. Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar has kept the nation guessing on whether or not he has patched up with his nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. A patch-up, or lack thereof, may decide whether the NCP will go with the NDA or INDIA.

What the 2-day meet may witness

The Mumbai conclave will witness the unveiling of the INDIA logo, even as the leaders discuss poll strategies and seat-sharing arrangements in various states in coming elections.

According to Congress leader Milind Deora, who is supervising the arrangements in Mumbai, seat sharing for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls among alliance partners is more or less finalised in many states with only a few requiring more time.

Some four political outfits may join the Opposition bloc at the Mumbai conclave. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut had said last week that there is a possibility that new political parties, especially from the North East, will take part in the two-day gathering.

The alliance may also coin the war cry for 2024 elections to oust the BJP from power at the Centre. Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Monday (August 28) said the INDIA alliance is set to launch the “Go away BJP” slogan in the upcoming meeting.