Nitish Kumar uneasy with 'NDA' in Opposition alliance 'INDIA', didn't want it named so

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed dissatisfaction with the use of the acronym ‘INDIA’ to replace ‘United Progressive Alliance’ (UPA) during a significant meeting of 26 opposition parties in Bengaluru on Tuesday, sources said. Sources in the party said that Bihar CM raised concerns about the alliance being named “INDIA because it has the letters, ‘NDA’ in it. They further mentioned that while Nitish Kumar played a crucial role in uniting all the opposition parties, there is a sense of shock among leaders of JD(U) and RJD due to the perceived dominance of Congress in the alliance. More than two dozen Indian opposition parties said on Tuesday that they had formed an alliance called “INDIA” to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in parliamentary elections next year. Naming the alliance INDIA is seen as an attempt to challenge the BJP’s nationalist platform in elections due by May 2024. PM Modi and BJP criticised the alliance members as opportunists and the corrupt who defamed India globally but were now trying to save their existence and their families. “The name of the opposition alliance- INDIA was proposed by West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. After a long discussion, it was decided to be called as ‘Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance,” VCK chief told ANI. On the other hand, Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said that Rahul Gandhi justified why it should be INDIA during the discussion in the meeting. “It is a collective effort. We all sat together, and we all decided on names. Rahul ji spearheaded this, he justified why it should be INDIA. He argued for it,” Srinate told ANI. It should also be noted that Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav were not present in the press conference following the Bengaluru opposition meet because the weather department predicted bad weather conditions and Nitish Kumar was getting late for a conference. Moreover, it needs to be mentioned that several opposition leaders like Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Kumar were not present at the press conference. The representatives of the 26 parties who met for the brainstorming meeting in Bengaluru also decided to set up an 11-member coordination committee, including all the major parties, and a ‘secretariat’ in Delhi for campaign management and for coordinating the working of various sub-committees, which will take up specific issues. “The next opposition meeting will be held in Mumbai; the date will be announced soon. An 11-member coordination committee will be set up. Names of committee members will be announced in Mumbai,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said. With inputs from agencies.