Logo, new members, seat-sharing: What's on the cards as INDIA bloc meets in Mumbai?

Political observers across the country will turn their attention to Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, as leaders belonging to the Opposition grouping of INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) bloc will gather in Maximum City to discuss the way forward as the 2024 Lok Sabha elections draw nearer.

The two-day conclave will see delegates from 26 opposition parties huddle together and iron out the nuts and bolts of the plan, which also include unveiling of a logo, appointment of coordinators, finalising a formal structure and also appointing a convenor.

The Mumbai meet is expected to build on the previous gatherings – the first was held in Bihar’s Patna in June followed by the Bengaluru meeting in mid-July. It was at the latter gathering that the name INDIA was unveiled for the bloc.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, to be held in the suburban luxury hotel Grand Hyatt, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar said he had confidence that the Opposition alliance will provide a formidable alternative to bring about a political change in the country. Former chief minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, who was also present at the press conference, chimed in that alliance of opposition parties belonging to different ideologies had the common objective of protecting democracy and ‘Bharat Mata’.

Here’s what to expect from the two-day conclave and the hurdles that stand before it.

Who’s coming?

The INDIA bloc has said that 27 parties and 62 delegates are expected to participate in the Mumbai meeting to be held on Thursday and Friday (31 August and 1 September).

Senior leaders such as Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad have already arrived in the city. Farooq Abdullah, Akhilesh Yadav, Nitish Kumar, Hemant Soren, M K Stalin, Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann would arrive on Thursday.

Also read: Who came up with the name INDIA for Opposition alliance? Were other names suggested?

Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge will also land in Mumbai on Thursday, after which they will attend a dinner hosted by Uddhav Thackeray.

Mamata Banerjee, who arrived on Wednesday, tied rakhi to Thackeray and Amitabh Bachchan during the day, also calling the latter the ‘Bharat Ratna’ of India.

Ahead of the meeting, the alliance also announced that it had expanded further by including two regional outfits – the Peasants and Workers Party of India (PWP), a Marxist political party in Maharashtra, and another regional outfit.

When asked about the presence of political leaders such as Mayawati, the chief of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), NCP’s Sharad Pawar remarked, “It is not known on whose side she is. Earlier she has had a dialogue with BJP.”

Also, on the addition of other parties such as the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Pawar said: “They have spoken with me and are inclined to go with us. But I can’t decide on this alone; we will have to speak with the Congress and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena on this. There will be a collective decision on that and till then accepting their overtures is difficult.”

He also added that the Akali Dal, the former partner of the BJP in the NDA, had made no overtures to join the bloc, “but, if they are inclined we can think about it”. However, he said, it is not easy because “we have Arvind Kejriwal whose party is ruling Punjab and the Congress party has a different policy there”.

What’s the plan?

The Mumbai meeting is important for the INDIA bloc and there’s a lot to discuss and finalise at this conclave. According to media reports, the alliance will announce its logo at the Mumbai meet and is reportedly to be a representation of all the parties.

As per a report in News9Live, the logo will have a Tricolour theme – first two letters (IN) in saffron, last two letters (IA) in green and D at the centre to have blue or white colour – in the bold and italics format.

Sources speaking to News9Live said there have been nine logos designed of which three have been shortlisted. Of these, one will be finalised this evening, which will be followed by the dinner hosted by Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray.

Apart from the logo, important details will also be discussed at the Mumbai meet. One of the main topics of discussion will be that of seat-sharing. A Shiv Sena (UBT) insider told ThePrint, “The seat-sharing formula will have to be discussed on the regional-level as well as national-level. It has to be done carefully taking into consideration the state-wise conditions.”

Others also said that only broad contours of the seat-sharing plan will be discussed, while the negotiations to work out the details could be left to a committee of leaders. NCP’s patriarch speaking on the same said, “We have not started discussing seat-sharing yet. It is possible that the next steps (on seat-sharing) will be discussed. If that happens, then some people will be given the responsibility for the same.”

Congress’ Milind Deora, on the other hand, said that seat sharing for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls among alliance partners is more or less finalised in most states, barring a few that require more time. He also hailed the “evolving chemistry” between INDIA partners and said the best example of that was in Maharashtra.

There’s also talk to create at least five different panels to handle specific tasks of the alliance in the run-up to the 2024 general elections. There is talk to create a committee that will ensure synergy in communication on social media platforms and to the media. The parties are also expected to announce a coordination committee and iron out details on the architecture of this grouping.

There’s also speculation that the Mumbai meeting will see the INDIA grouping appointing a covenor. However, this decision remains contentious as there are so many people vying for the spot; NCP’s Sharad Pawar, TMC’s Mamata Banerjee, JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar, AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal and Congress’ Mallikarjun Kharge are all in the race.

When posed with the question of being convenor, Nitish had earlier said, “I don’t want to become anything. I have been telling you this again and again. I have no such desire. I just want to unite everyone.”

Uddhav Thackeray said on Wednesday, “Let’s wait for the meeting and deliberations to take place.” He added: “Does anyone know who the convenor of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is?”

When asked about the prime ministerial face from the alliance, the Shiv Sena leader deflected by remarking, “We have so many choices on who can become the next prime minister of the country. But the question is what choice does the BJP have, since we have all seen the functioning of the present prime minister. Are all happy with him?” asked Uddhav.

This issue is bound to be discussed at the meeting as it has created a flutter with many observers saying that the alliance is already dissipating. This happened after AAP seemed to propose Arvind Kejriwal as the face of the bloc and the Congress countering with a poster that didn’t show the Delhi chief minister at all.

The Congress later deleted it and released another one which included chief ministers from Opposition-ruled states to take on the BJP-led NDA.

There’s also talk of adding new parties to the alliance. Earlier, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had hinted that more parties would be joining the INDIA bloc. The Congress also claimed that four to five political parties of the BJP-led NDA bloc were in touch with the INDIA alliance and some of them will join the opposition bloc in the coming days.

“At least four-five political parties which were among the 38 parties that attended the NDA meeting addressed by PM Modi are in touch with the INDIA alliance. Some of them are expected to join the opposition bloc very soon while some before (2024) elections,” Congress spokesperson Alok Sharma had said on Sunday at a press conference in Nagpur.

It will be interesting to see what the INDIA alliance achieves in the Mumbai conclave and how much are they able to build on the backs of the Patna and Bengaluru meets. One thing is certain, however, the bloc is creating quite a lot of buzz before the 2024 polls. The question is – can they convert it into viable votes.

With inputs from agencies