With just hours to go before 23 parties of the INDIA bloc meet at New Delhi's Constitution Club on Monday afternoon, all eyes are on how the grouping will navigate internal rifts that have worsened since the 2026 Assembly elections impacted some parties.
Calling it the "INDIA janbandhan", AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh wrote on X earlier on Sunday that the bloc was united, and that those not in attendance had "their own reasons", but were still opposed to the "policies and actions" of the Centre.
The meeting on Monday thus aims to calibrate the bloc's strategy to take on the BJP's growing power in the country, as well as to resolve issues around the defeat of regional parties in the 2026 Assembly elections, which have changed power dynamics in certain states.
A working strategy for the 2027 polls and the 2029 Lok Sabha elections is also expected to be discussed in the meeting, which will take place just ahead of the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, in which the NDA hopes to try getting the women's quota and delimitation bills passed.
Whether the NDA can succeed this time depends on whether the meeting—and subsequent moves by the bloc—can resolve issues with regional equations, such as the possible exit of rebel TMC MPs in the Parliament, and prevent the ruling alliance stealing support from DMK MPs as well.
Reports claimed that the leaders will meet to redraw their strategy to take on the BJP and iron out differences amid changed power dynamics after the defeat of regional anchors TMC and DMK in the recent assembly polls.
However, Congress' General Secretary (Organisation), K.C. Venugopal, told reporters on Sunday that the detailed agenda would only be put out after the meeting.
The DMK, once a key member of the bloc, has turned bitter against the bloc due to Congress' alleged "betrayal" in the 2026 Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu, where it backed the C. Joseph Vijay-led TVK at the last moment.
The AAP, which has distanced itself from the bloc after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, is also not expected to attend, as per a PTI report.
Possible demands from the TMC, CPI(M)
For TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, whose 28-year-old party finds itself at the crossroads of an existential crisis due to the exodus of rebel MLAs led by Ritabrata Banerjee—and possible MPs as well.
While this will continue to impact her power in the party, and also play a role in the NDA's next attempt to pass the two constitutional amendment bills, party sources told NDTV that she is reportedly not interested in contesting the Assembly elections again.
This comes despite two opportunities opening up—by-elections in CM Suvendu Adhikari's Nandigram seat, and Humayun Jahangir's Rejinagar seat.
She has instead set her sights on the Lok Sabha polls—specifically the by-election scheduled in the Basirhat seat after the death of Haji Nurul Islam.
It is for this that she would need the bloc's help—especially the Congress, as Basirhat is a Muslim-majority constituency where the minority population exceeds 55 per cent.
The CPI(M), meanwhile, will question the Congress' charge that the Left had colluded with the BJP for the Kerala Assembly elections, which it has decried as a "systemic campaign" against its leadership.
In that regard, CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby had also called out the allegation that ex-Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan had even struck a deal with PM Modi, which he claimed became the "centrepiece of (Congress') political campaign".
