At a meeting of the INDIA bloc in New Delhi on Monday, opposition leaders sought to project unity and said the alliance would intensify its focus on democratic values, voter concerns and key livelihood issues such as employment, inflation and farmers’ distress. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said 25 parties took part in the discussion and announced a series of coordinated steps the bloc intends to pursue in the coming weeks. According to Kharge, the alliance will soon write to the Chief Justice of India over serious concerns linked to SIR, alleged manipulation in voter lists and broader questions about the fairness of elections. He also said the bloc would demand the education minister’s immediate resignation, arguing that millions of students preparing for NEET and CBSE exams had been let down and forced to protest.
Kharge added that INDIA would push the central government to call an all-party meeting on the worsening economy, rising unemployment, inflation and farmers’ issues. He said the bloc would continue to raise public-interest concerns and would meet every two months. During the monsoon session of Parliament, the opposition will also maintain coordination in both Houses, with a daily morning meeting of opposition parties planned in the Lok Sabha under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership.
The meeting was attended by senior leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Kharge, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, Supriya Sule, D. Raja, John Brittas and other leaders from smaller parties. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray joined virtually. However, the Aam Aadmi Party and the DMK did not attend, underscoring the internal strains within the alliance. AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal met Mamata Banerjee separately, while DMK leaders said they stayed away because of their growing political differences with Congress in Tamil Nadu.
The DMK said Congress was increasingly aligned with TVK in the state and was no longer acting like a dependable ally. The CPI(M), which did attend, also expressed dissatisfaction, with general secretary M.A. Baby saying alliance partners needed to act with greater seriousness and avoid irresponsible accusations, particularly those made during the Kerala elections.
Before the meeting, Akhilesh Yadav said the bloc’s attention was already fixed on the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly election and stressed the need to protect social harmony and democracy. Tejashwi Yadav said a letter would be sent to the Chief Justice regarding alleged electoral irregularities, and argued that the BJP would struggle if elections were held through ballot paper instead of EVMs.
The BJP dismissed the meeting as politically hollow. Its leaders said the opposition was being inconsistent on voter-roll and election issues and argued that if anything had been “stolen,” it was the very relevance of the INDIA bloc. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the alliance lacked unity and seriousness, while BJP leaders in Kerala said the bloc was unstable and repeatedly weakened by internal rifts.
