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

It is Narendra Modi vs INDIA for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Opposition parties have been huddling over the past two days in Bengaluru and declared on Tuesday that the group which would take on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would be called “INDIA”. INDIA is an acronym for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance. A renamed version of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), it is an Opposition front comprising 26 parties. We take a look at what happened at the Bengaluru conclave and how they arrived at the name INDIA after much debate. Also read: Opposition unites in 'I.N.D.I.A': Why BJP can't rely solely on Modi wave but must fix organisational woes Who suggested the name INDIA? For months, talks were on to put up a united fight against PM Modi and the NDA. At the conclave in Bengaluru, which was attended by leaders of the 26 Opposition parties, there were plenty of deliberations, among which was a discussion on the name. There are contrasting reports on who came up with the name but senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee were actively involved. Some reports suggest it was Gandhi who came up with the idea of calling the new front INDIA. According to The Indian Express, he wanted Congress general secretary KC Venugopal to get approval from Banerjee. The Gandhi scion suggested INDIA as the name for the Opposition group’s big aim is to defeat the NDA, which he feels is “against” the idea of India as a nation. Nationalist Congress Party leader Jitendra Awhad in a tweet said the name was Gandhi’s idea. “In the ongoing meeting of opposition parties in Bangalore, Rahul Gandhi put forward a proposal to name this alliance as INDIA. His creativity was greatly appreciated. All the parties approved it and decided to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections under the name INDIA,” he said. However, other reports say that it was Banerjee who proposed the name first and it was seconded by Tamil Nadu CM and Dravida Munetra Kazhagam chief MK Stalin.

INDIA से बड़ा कोई नहीं pic.twitter.com/ccOm52cY81

— Congress (@INCIndia) July 19, 2023

What about the acronym? I.N.D.I.A. is an acronym for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance. However, after the first announcement on Tuesday, confusion prevailed. “We have come together and discussed various points. With one voice, people supported the resolution adopted today. Our alliance will be called Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA),” said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in the joint press conference. Did they get it wrong at first, many wondered. Did the “D” in INDIA stand for development or democracy? A Congress tweet said it was developmental and not democracy.

𝐈 - 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧
𝐍 - 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥
𝐃 - 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥
𝐈 - 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞
𝐀 - 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐀 की जीत होगी 🇮🇳

— Congress (@INCIndia) July 18, 2023

But Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar added to the confusion when he first tweeted, “United We stand with I - Indian N - National D - Democratic I - Inclusive A – Alliance.” He later edited the tweet and wrote D was for “Developmental”. Confusion arose as there were reportedly informal talks on whether the letter D should stand for democratic or developmental. However, the “D” was not the only subject of discussion. While coming up with the name, Banerjee had earlier suggested that N should stand for new instead of national. Also read: INDIA vs NDA in 2024: Why the Opposition alliance changed its name Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah had suggested that the letter N should be dropped entirely as he thought the word national was not required. He wanted it to be called Indian Democratic Inclusive Alliance (IDIA), according to a report in News18. Other leaders also made suggestions. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar proposed that the alliance should be called India Main Front (IMF). He was not convinced that a political alliance should be called INDIA. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury came up with the name “We for India” or “Victory for India”. But it was turned down as many leaders felt it sounded more like a campaign slogan than the name of a bloc. Some other names doing the rounds were ‘Indian Peoples Alliance’, ‘Save India Alliance or ‘Secular India Alliance’, ‘Save Democracy Alliance’ or just plain ‘Save India.’ However, the decision to go with INDIA was arrived at after some debate. [caption id=“attachment_12884972” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge with NCP Supremo Sharad Pawar and party leader Rahul Gandhi at a joint press conference after the Opposition parties meeting, in Bengaluru, Tuesday. The alliance is called Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and an 11-member committee will be set up for coordination. PTI[/caption] Addressing the media, Gandhi explained the idea behind INDIA. According to him, not only was the new name apt for the new platform of Opposition parties but it also reflected “the idea of India is being attacked by the BJP, the wealth of India is being snatched from the people and handed over to a few businessmen, who are close to the Prime Minister and the BJP”. “Our fight is not between two political formations, but to fight for the idea of India… historically and globally, nobody has been able to defeat India and the idea of India. This is a fight between the idea of India and the idea of the BJP. This is a fight between India and the BJP. It is a fight between India and Mr Narendra Modi,” he added. Hitting out at the BJP, Banerjee said in the media interaction, “BJP, can you challenge INDIA? We love our motherland, we are the patriotic people of the country, we are for farmers, Dalits, we are for the country, for the world… INDIA will win, our country will win and BJP will lose.” [caption id=“attachment_12884982” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar attend the Opposition parties’ meet in Bengaluru on Monday. PTI[/caption] What comes next for INDIA? The road ahead is not easy. The first big challenge will be to decide on seat-sharing. According to a report in The Indian Express, Delhi CM and Aam Aadmi Party chief stressed at the Bengaluru conclave that more than giving the alliance a name, deciding a seat-sharing arrangement was important. Yechury agreed and said that seat-sharing was the key issue, asking the question of how accommodative the Congress would be, especially in states like Kerala and West Bengal. Kharge and Rahul both said that the party is not eyeing the prime minister’s post in the alliance if it wins in 2024.

For now talks on seat-sharing have been put on hold along with the decision to appoint a convenor at the alliance. These big discussions are likely to be held at the next Opposition conclave in Mumbai in the second half of August. The Mumbai meeting will be hosted by Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray and there is a possibility that the Opposition parties will hold their first joint conference then. In Bengaluru, the 26 parties decided to set up an 11-member coordination committee and a secretariat in Delhi to manage the INDIA campaign. The Opposition camp issued a joint statement in which they zeroed in on common issues on which they can challenge the BJP. “We promise to transform both the substance and style of governance that will be more consultative, democratic and participative,” read the ‘Saamuhik Sankalp’ (joint statement) issued by the alliance. “We have come together to defeat the hatred and violence being manufactured against minorities; stop the rising crimes against women, Dalits, Adivasis and Kashmiri Pandits; demand a fair hearing for all socially, educationally and economically backward communities; and, as a first step, implement the Caste Census,” it added. With inputs from agencies