A day after 26 Opposition parties announced the name for their alliance as ‘INDIA – Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance’, they chose the tagline “Jeetaga Bharat (India will win)”, setting the tone for their 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign.
The Hindi tagline is likely to be replicated in several regional languages, PTI reported, quoting sources.
During the meeting of the Opposition leaders in a two-day meeting in Bengaluru, the leaders felt that the word “Bharat” should feature in the alliance.
The tagline around “Bharat” is seen as an attempt to counter the BJP’s “Bharat vs India” line of attack in the run up to the 2024 polls.
A group of 26 Opposition parties on Tuesday, in their ‘Samuhik Sankalp (joint resolution)’ released after the meeting, expressed their steadfast resolve to safeguard the idea of India as enshrined in the Constitution.
An 11-member committee will also be set up for coordination, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said.
Meanwhile, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Tuesday, on the same day of the Opposition meet, held a grand show of strength of its allies, which was attended by 39 parties. The NDA asserted that it will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that he will return to the helm for a third straight term with a “huge majority”.
Controversy over ‘INDIA’ name
Meanwhile, following the Opposition alliance name announcement, Assam Chief Minister and Congress-turned-BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma changed his Twitter bio from ‘”Chief Minister of Assam, India” to “Chief Minister of Assam, Bharat”.
Taking a dig at the Opposition parties for the choice of the name, Sarma wrote in a tweet, “Our civilisational conflict is pivoted around India and Bharat. The British named our country as India. We must strive to free ourselves from colonial legacies. Our forefathers fought for Bharat, and we will continue to work for Bharat.”
“BJP for BHARAT,” he added.
The Congress sharply responded, with party general secretary, organisation, Jairam Ramesh, asking the Assam CM to direct his remarks at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has named several government programmes as ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’, among others.
“Is the Assam CM having a surplus of sour grapes in his mouth? His new mentor, Mr Modi, gave us Skill India, Start-up India and Digital India-all new names for ongoing programmes. He has (PM Modi) asked CMs of different states to work together as ‘Team India’. He even made an appeal to Vote India!” wrote Ramesh.
“But when 26 political parties call their formation INDIA (Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance), he (Mr Sarma) throws a fit and says use of India reflects ‘colonial mentality’! He should go tell that to his Boss,” he added.
