United Front, Fractured Base: INDIA Bloc Meets After 2 Years, Returns With 5-Point Plan and Familiar Fault Lines

Twenty-five opposition parties regrouped at Delhi’s Constitution Club on Monday for the INDIA bloc’s first major meeting since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections . The gathering came amid a backdrop of successive assembly poll losses and was symbolically timed to coincide with the completion of 12 years of the Narendra Modi-led government in power across three consecutive terms.

The meeting agreed on a set of coordinated political actions. It decided to write to the Chief Justice of India over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls , demanded the immediate resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET and CBSE examination controversy , and called for a government convened all-party discussion on the economy. The bloc also resolved to hold meetings every two months and maintain daily coordination in Parliament during the upcoming Monsoon Session. The next meeting has been scheduled in Hyderabad in August.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge , who chaired the meeting, set an aggressive tone from the beginning. He referred to the opposition’s April 17 Lok Sabha vote against the government’s delimitation-related bills as proof that the alliance could still act decisively when united. He said there was unanimous agreement that Dharmendra Pradhan must step down, accusing him of presiding over what he called a betrayal of students affected by irregularities in national examinations. On electoral rolls, he said a formal letter to the Chief Justice of India would soon be submitted, raising concerns over voter list manipulation and alleged attempts to undermine electoral integrity. The alliance also pressed for an all-party meeting focused on unemployment, inflation, farmers’ issues, and welfare of marginalised communities.

The meeting was attended by several senior leaders including Sonia Gandhi , Rahul Gandhi , and Mallikarjun Kharge from Congress, Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Omar Abdullah of the National Conference, Supriya Sule of the NCP (SP), and Independent MP Kapil Sibal . Uddhav Thackeray joined virtually. However, key partners such as the DMK and Aam Aadmi Party were absent. The AAP has already distanced itself from the alliance after the 2024 elections, while DMK’s absence followed Congress’s strained ties with it after the Tamil Nadu assembly polls. The bloc, once envisioned as a broad umbrella of more than 25 parties, now appears more compact but also more internally complex.

Underlying tensions were still visible despite the public display of unity. The CPI(M) was expected to raise concerns over allegations that Congress had an informal understanding with the BJP in Kerala , where the Left suffered a significant electoral setback. The Trinamool Congress also sought solidarity over alleged political targeting of its leaders in West Bengal following its defeat in the state assembly elections. Notably, after the meeting, Mallikarjun Kharge did not take questions from the media, reflecting the cautious approach the alliance is adopting in managing internal differences.

The BJP dismissed the meeting as politically inconsequential. Its spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla described the INDIA bloc as lacking real cohesion and functioning more as a symbolic arrangement than a serious political force. In response, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh argued that the alliance, like the diversity of India itself, continues to hold together despite differences. However, the developments on Monday suggest that sustaining that unity will require more than rhetoric in the months ahead.