The idea of ‘INDIA’ — how opposition parties picked alliance name at dinner hosted by Siddaramaiah

While Congress has claimed credit for the name — an acronym for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance — many from the meeting attributed the idea to Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.

Bengaluru/New Delhi: Twenty-six parties which met in Bengaluru Tuesday christened the opposition alliance against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ‘INDIA’, an acronym for ‘Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance’ — turning the 2024 Lok Sabha elections into a ‘fight between INDIA and the BJP-led NDA (National Democratic Alliance)’.

However, the acronym wasn’t easy to come by, leaders who attended the meeting shared with ThePrint. Various names were suggested for the alliance name at a dinner hosted by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Monday. But, people aware of the developments said, it was a group comprising Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and K.C. Venugopal, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress leaders Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien, that came up with the idea of ‘INDIA’.

“We were not looking for a name. We were looking for a big idea and that’s INDIA,” O’Brien told ThePrint Tuesday.

The Congress was quick to claim credit for the alliance name, even though many leaders who attended the meeting attributed the idea to the West Bengal CM.

According to two leaders who attended the meeting, the ‘INDIA’ acronym had endless wordplay potential, natural safeguards against being mocked and a wider appeal.

Banerjee was the first to speak after AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge’s opening address where she placed the acronym before the meeting. She explained its concept to most leaders at the opposition meeting Tuesday morning, but her Bihar counterpart, Nitish Kumar, and Sitaram Yechury of the CPI(M), were not particularly thrilled at the proposal, said a leader who attended the meeting.

“Mamata Banerjee suggested INDIA, which stood for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance. This was seconded by Tamil Nadu CM, M.K. Stalin,” Thol Thirumavalavan, member of Parliament and representative of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) party, told ThePrint.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, another leader who attended the meeting said, “Rahul [Gandhi] said naming the front ‘INDIA’ will help the Opposition gain an edge in the battle of narratives as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will find it difficult to pitch the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi against it.”

The ‘INDIA’ alliance seeks to present a united front of parties opposed to the BJP at the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The 26 parties present at the Opposition meeting included the Congress, DMK, TMC, Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shiv Sena (UBT), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist), Samajwadi Party, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Aam Aadmi Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal, MDML, VCK, Revolutionary Socialist Party, Kongu Desa Makkal Katchi, Forward Block, Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala Congress (Joseph), Kerala Congress (Mani), Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi.

Other contenders

According to sources present at the meeting, however, this was not the only name proposed at the meeting. Each leader spent several minutes to first propose a name for the alliance and then explain the idea behind it, those aware of the developments said.

Former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah is said to have suggested removing the letter ‘N’ from INDIA and retaining ‘IDIA’, an acronym for ‘Indian Democratic Inclusive Alliance’.

Yechury favoured ‘V for India’, while CPI’s D. Raja suggested either ‘Save Democracy Alliance’ or ‘Secular India’, according to sources.

The sources added that VCK suggested ‘Save India Alliance’ or ‘Secular India Alliance’ as a possible name, while Vaiyapuri Gopalsamy — who is better known as Vaiko — from Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) favoured ‘Indian Peoples Alliance’.

Nitish Kumar, one of the most prominent faces of the alliances, wanted ‘Indian Main Front’, according to those present at the meeting.

Another name to have been suggested for the alliance at the meeting, according to the sources, was the ‘Bharat Jodo Alliance’, to build on the success of the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra by the Congress. Yhis name was suggested by Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti.

Meanwhile, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren came up with ‘UPA-3’ and Forward Bloc general secretary G. Devarajan proposed ‘People’s Alliance for India’, added the sources.

Finally however, it was ‘India’ which was adopted as the name of the alliance.

What ‘INDIA’ represents

Sources among those present at the meeting added that there were also differences among the leaders on what each letter of the acronym should represent.

There was brainstorming on whether the letter ‘N’ should stand for ‘new’ or ‘national’, or if ‘D’ should stand for ‘democratic’ or ‘developmental’. The latter prevailed and all the names suggested by the political parties will now become part of the election campaign, said one leader.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said at the meeting that discussions on names can be held later but the parties should focus more on ‘ironing out differences on seat-sharing’.

“One thing done but that (name) is the first stage, people expected the alliance to have a name and this part is now over,” Dipankar Bhattacharya, the general secretary of the CPI (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation, told ThePrint.