New Delhi: As many as 23 political parties of the opposition INDIA bloc are likely to meet on Monday to redraw their strategy to take on the BJP and iron out differences amid changed power dynamics after the defeat of regional anchors TMC and DMK in the recent assembly polls.
Top leaders of opposition parties including Congress’ Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, TMC’s Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav of RJD and Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena (UBT), besides Left leaders and those from smaller parties, are likely to attend the meeting at the Constitution Club in the national capital.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that 23 political parties have confirmed their participation in the “INDIA janbandhan” meeting, while asserting that the opposition bloc continues to stand united through its diversity.
Ramesh said that some parties have expressed their inability to attend this meeting for their own reasons even though they have conveyed their strong opposition to the Modi government’s policies and actions.
While the DMK and AAP are unlikely to attend, TVK is likely to be included in the bloc.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has already publicly distanced itself from the bloc, while the DMK earlier announced its decision to boycott the gathering after the Congress snapped ties with it in Tamil Nadu and joined the TVK-led government.
The alliance is set to deliberate on the future course of action and will aim to put a united face to take on the Modi government on national issues in the run-up to the next election cycle in states and the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.
The recent defeat of Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal has also forced the opposition bloc to come together to take on the saffron surge in the country.
The TMC is likely to raise the issue of alleged attacks on its leaders in Bengal and rally support of INDIA bloc parties.
“Meeting with a common purpose and clear intent. INDIA united. Many parties look forward to meeting in the spirit of camaraderie,” TMC MP Derek O’Brien said.
The recent assembly elections have, however, also brought out differences within the opposition bloc, with the CPI-M set to raise with the Congress the charge that the Left had a political understanding with the BJP in Kerala polls. The Left parties lost against the Congress-led UDF in the only state they were in power.
The CPI(M) which will be represented by its Rajya Sabha leader John Brittas at the meeting, is likely to flag the issue and seek clarifications from the Congress leadership, sources said.
CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby has written to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, saying such accusations were inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that underpins the opposition alliance.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said Baby’s letter raises questions about the unity of the INDIA alliance.
“This is the real state of the INDI alliance — no mission, no vision, only confusion, division, allegations and ambition for positions,” he said in a video statement.
However, Ramesh said that like India, the “INDIA janbandhan” continues to stand united through its diversity.
He said the parties which are unable to attend have conveyed their “strong opposition to the Modi government’s policies and actions that are snatching away the right to vote for millions of Indians, assaulting the Constitution daily, attacking Opposition leaders through investigative agencies…”.
He said that these parties are against the Modi government’s policies that are “seriously damaging the livelihoods of crores of Indians, breaking household budgets through relentless price rise, betraying the hopes and aspirations of lakhs of youth, dampening investment climate, and compromising the national interest by its foreign policy”.
CPI General Secretary D Raja said the formal meeting of the INDIA bloc is taking place after a long time and the Left parties will raise their issues.
“Every party has certain issues to raise. The Left parties also have issues that we want to raise, and other parties may have their own concerns. The DMK is not attending the meeting…,” he said.
The last official meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was held in New Delhi on June 1, 2024, just ahead of the Lok Sabha election.
On August 7, 2025, Rahul Gandhi hosted a crucial strategy dinner for top INDIA bloc leaders at his New Delhi residence that brought together nearly 50 leaders from over 25 opposition parties, where the issue of alleged electoral manipulation, particularly the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in Bihar, was raised.
The INDIA bloc leadership has since then got together formally during consultations ahead of Parliament sessions, when opposition parties discussed floor coordination and issues to be jointly raised against the central government.
These included moving notices against the then Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, Speaker Om Birla and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, seeking their removal.
The recent assembly election outcomes have prompted fresh introspection within opposition ranks.
“…This is the need of the hour… the Congress Party and others who share the same ideology, those who want to save the country, protect the Constitution, and shield people from rising inflation, must also come together,” Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said on the INDIA bloc meeting.
The INDIA alliance, formed ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, comprises several opposition parties that have sought to jointly challenge the BJP-led NDA at the national level.
