Setting up an 'NDA vs INDIA' battle for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, 26 opposition parties decided to call their alliance the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I-N-D-I-A) at a mega meeting in Bengaluru today. The next meeting of the parties will be held in Mumbai.
Here's what some of the key opposition leaders said after the meeting:
Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader
It's an honour for me to be here at this meeting. The idea of India is being attacked. The voice of India is being snatched from millions of Indians.
This is a fight for India's voice and that is why we have chosen this name - Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (India). The fight is between NDA and India, between Narendra Modi and India and their ideology and India. We are defending the Indian constitution, the voice of our people and the idea of this great country, the idea of India. We all know who wins when someone takes on the idea of India.
Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal Chief Minister
Today the meeting was very good, constructive and fruitful. We will call our alliance Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, which is India in English and Bharat in Hindi.
You've heard of the UPA. The NDA is still there, but there is no existence. So, in the coming days, the danger that lives are in - be they of Dalits, minorities, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs or Christians and be it in Manipur, Arunachal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, West Bengal, Bihar or Maharashtra - this government at the Centre has only one job, buying and selling governments.
We have taken up a real challenge. NDA, can you challenge India? BJP, can you challenge India? We love our motherland. We are the patriotic people of this country. We are for the country, for youth, for farmers, for good economy, for Dalits, for all.
Our challenge will be, all focus, all publicity, all campaigning, all programmes, they will be under the banner of INDIA. If anybody has a challenge, catch us if you can. Save India from disaster. Save the people of India. The BJP is making deals to sell the country, to buy democracy. This is why they don't let independent agencies function.
India will win, the BJP will lose. Bharat will win, the BJP will lose. INDIA will win, the country will win.
Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister
All of us, 26 parties, have gathered in Bengaluru. This was the second meeting, 16 parties had gathered in Patna. It is a good thing that the group is getting bigger. Nine years ago, the people of the country had elected Narendra Modi with a big majority. In these nine years, he had an opportunity and he could have done a lot for the country.
But, in these nine years, there is not one sector which has seen any growth. They have not left any stone unturned to ruin every sector. The best thing is, you buy a second-class ticket and get into any train and you will find that the railways, which used to be okay 4-5 years ago, has been completely ruined by these people.
They have ruined the economy and the railways, sold off ships, the sky, the ground and the part under the ground as well. Every person is unhappy in the country today - the youth, farmers, labourers, businessmen, industrialists, housewives, homemakers. Who is not unhappy?
These 26 parties, we have not gathered for ourselves. On the one hand, we have to save the country from all the hatred that is being spread and, on the other hand, we have gathered with a new dream of India. An India where every youth gets employment, where every poor child gets a good education and everyone who is ill gets proper treatment.
Our dream is of a country where there will be peace, love and progress and not one where the resources are given to a few people.
Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress President
Leaders of all 26 parties were present in the meeting, including our respected leader Sonia Gandhi. This is a very important meeting to save democracy and the Constitution. In the interest of the people of this country, we have come together and discussed various points. Earlier we were the UPA. Now, with 26 parties, all of us have agreed to call the alliance the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).
An 11-member coordination committee will be set up. We will meet again in Mumbai and discuss the names of the coordinators there. The date of the meeting will also be announced shortly.
A secretariat will be set up for campaign management and other committees on specific issues will be set up in Delhi because it is the capital and it will be convenient for everybody. A joint statement of today's meeting has been approved.
The BJP government wants to destroy democracy in this country and they also want to destroy the constitution. They are using autonomous bodies like the CBI, ED and vigilance, all such institutions against the opposition parties and their workers. Therefore, there is a grave situation. The country is important for us.
Though we have got some differences in each state politically. We have kept that behind. What's in front is to save this country and the people of this country. There were 16 parties in Patna, now there are 26. After seeing everything, Modiji is calling an NDA meeting with 30 parties.
I don't know about 30 parties. Whether they are parties registered with the Election Commission. I have not heard of so many parties. Earlier, they never cared even about their own alliance. They never used to even talk. Many people left, but now he is calling them one by one and they are meeting. One party had many divisions (bahut tukde tukde ho gaye the) and Modiji is joining them now.
This means that he is now afraid of the opposition parties. Otherwise he never bothered. Our aim will be to take important issues one by one and highlight them across the country. We will also highlight the failures of the government. We will fight the 2024 elections unitedly and we will come out with great success.
Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief
We have had our second successful meeting. You must have seen that the people are uniting against dictatorship. We will take India forward and that's why we have come here. People say parties of different ideologies are coming together. There should be different ideologies. That is what democracy is.