Indus Valley Times

NEW DELHI,JULY 17: The new alliance of anti-BJP parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), will no longer be called the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). The new name is likely to be decided during the mega opposition meeting in Bengaluru on Tuesday that will be attended by more than 20 parties, sources told India Today.

The Congress-led UPA was in power at the Centre for two terms from 2004 to 2014. Its chairperson was former party president Sonia Gandhi.

Asked about whether the proposed opposition coalition will get a new name, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said the party was not solely deciding about the issue and a collective decision will be taken during the meeting.

“We will take all decisions. I can’t tell you now what are the issues that are going to be discussed. Congress is not deciding this alone. All the opposition parties will sit together and decide unitedly,” Venugopal said in a press conference.

According to sources, the proposed anti-BJP bloc will have a common minimum programme and discussions on seat sharing on a state-to-state basis will be held during the meeting.

A sub-committee will likely be set up for drafting the common minimum programme and communication points for the alliance for the next year’s Lok Sabha elections, sources said.

A sub-committee for chalking out the joint campaigning programme of opposition parties, which includes rallies, conventions and agitations, is expected to be formed, they said.

The opposition parties will likely take up the issue of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and suggest reforms to the Election Commission during the meeting.

A common secretariat is likely to be set up for the proposed alliance, sources said.

They further said that the meeting is expected to begin on Tuesday with an address by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. A joint press conference is scheduled to be held at 4 pm after the meeting.

In a bid to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA government in the 2024 general elections, the Opposition will huddle in Bengaluru on July 17 and 18 and is expected to iron out their differences and project a united front leading up to the Lok Sabha polls.

The first such meeting of opposition parties, to forge unity ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, was held in Bihar’s Patna on June 23. This will be the second such meeting by the opposition parties in Bengaluru.

A dinner party hosted by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will be held on Monday. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar is likely to skip the dinner party but is expected to attend the meeting the next day, according to sources.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took a jibe at the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “baffled” after the opposition meeting was held in Patna last month.

“PM Modi and the BJP are baffled. After the Patna meeting (of Opposition), the PM suddenly thought of NDA. Attempts are being made to breathe new life into NDA. Suddenly, it was reported that the NDA meeting has been called for tomorrow. This is a result of the meeting in Patna,” he said.

BJP SLAMS OPPOSITION

BJP president JP Nadda alleged on Sunday that opposition parties were forming an alliance to “protect” their dynastic politics and that the Congress-led UPA stands for “utpidan (oppression), pakshpat (favouritism) and atyachar (atrocities)”.

The proposed coalition of the opposition parties is not a “Patriotic Democratic Alliance”, but a “Protection of Dynasties Alliance”, Nadda said in Rajasthan, where Assembly polls are due by the year-end.

Nadda termed the Congress a party of “mother-son-daughter” and said except for the members of the Gandhi family, all other leaders of the party, including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, were on “contract”, while former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot was on a “sub-contract”.

-PTI