More than two dozen Indian opposition parties said on Tuesday that they had joined hands to form an alliance called "INDIA" to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in parliamentary elections next year. Naming the alliance INDIA is seen as an attempt by the opposition parties to challenge the BJP on its own nationalist platform in elections due by May 2024. Mallikarjun Kharge, president of the main opposition Congress party, said INDIA stood for "Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance." "The main aim is to stand together to safeguard democracy and the constitution," Kharge told reporters at the end of a two-day meeting of 26 opposition parties in the southern city of Bengaluru. A statement from the INDIA alliance said the "character of our republic is being severely assaulted in a systematic manner by the BJP" and pledged to "safeguard the idea of India as enshrined in the Constitution."

Source: Dhaka Tribune July 18, 2023 14:09 UTC