Top leaders of the opposition alliance India made several important announcements after a meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday afternoon.
This meeting has taken place at a time when opposition leaders are demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
He alleges that continuous controversies and questions have arisen regarding the functioning of the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Congress, the largest party in the alliance, had also demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.
Senior Congress leader KC Venugopal had said, "The entire process of SIR and this scam of Gyanesh Kumar cannot happen without the consent of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister."
The ruling BJP, in response, tried to highlight the differences within the India alliance. Also, the party has accused Congress of 'spreading lies and misleading the people'.
So what was the outcome of the meeting?
According to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, leaders of about 18 parties of the India alliance took part in the closed-door discussion that lasted for about three hours.
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Leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Omar Abdullah, Mamata Banerjee, Supriya Sule and Tejashwi Yadav were present in the meeting, while some leaders like Uddhav Thackeray and Hemant Soren participated online.
After the meeting was over, the alliance leaders tried to convey the message of unity in front of the media.
Aggressive alliance regarding Gyanesh Kumar
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NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule hugged TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and welcomed her with a smile. Sonia Gandhi, sitting next to Mamata Banerjee, also greeted the people present there.
Due to less space in the first row on the stage, some leaders faced difficulty in sitting. But later additional chairs were installed and seating arrangements were made for all the leaders.
Addressing the media, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that the India Alliance will take six major steps in the coming weeks.
These include Save Democracy march at the district level, march of opposition parties to the Election Commission and rallies across the country.
One such rally will also be held in the capital Delhi. Besides, an appointment will be sought with the President regarding the allegations of electoral irregularities and an appeal will be made for early disposal of the cases pending in the Supreme Court related to SIR.
During the media briefing, Mamata Banerjee launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission.
He said, "If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign, our protest will spread across the country. We will fight, win and restore constitutional democracy. This is our promise."
During his statement, Sonia Gandhi was also seen expressing her support by tapping the table. Mamata Banerjee appealed to different sections of the society to join the India Alliance movement.
“Parties like DMK and AAP, which had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections with the India Alliance, are no longer part of the active activities of the alliance.
After the meeting, Union Minister and BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in the press conference, "The alliance disintegrated even before the meeting. Where was Akhilesh Yadav? Where is Stalin? DMK has even said that we will not sit where Congress is present. Where is Arvind Kejriwal? Uddhav Thackeray also joined virtually and there is no trace of Hemant Soren ji."
Meanwhile, in response to a question, Kharge said that all the allies of the India alliance have agreed that elections in the country should be conducted through ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs).
'Good times' for alliance
Director of The Hindu Publishing Group and senior journalist N. According to Ram, the circumstances have rarely been so favorable for the opposition in recent times.
He says that "issues like controversies related to the Election Commission, alleged paper leaks in examination and recruitment processes have created dissatisfaction among the youth, due to which there is a stir in the political environment."
However, N. Ram believes that the real question is whether Congress will be able to take the India alliance in the right direction. According to him, the alliance's base seems strong in many states, but in Tamil Nadu it is facing a big deficit because DMK is no longer with it. DMK has 30 MPs in both the houses of Parliament together.
He also said that Congress has formed an alliance with TVK after the state elections, but the party still has limited presence at the national level. In such a situation, if DMK remains out of the alliance, then how will the opposition replenish its political strength in Tamil Nadu?
Analysts also believe that the challenges are not only before the India alliance. The ruling NDA is also facing many challenges.
Senior journalist and political analyst Aditi Phadnis told the BBC, "BJP is also trying to understand what its next step should be. BJP cannot say that there are no problems in the functioning of the Election Commission. But it cannot accept it either."
"I believe that the society and the people are also examining BJP afresh as an alternative at this time. There are issues like employment, education and law and order in the country and there are no clear solutions to them. To be honest, these are not easy issues even in the best of times. I feel that we are getting closer to an important political turning point."
But N. According to Ram, the India alliance currently seems to be moving ahead with a fixed strategy.
He said, "According to what is understood from the meeting of the India Alliance, their main focus is on the Election Commission and in my opinion this is a right strategy. BJP has tried to divert people's attention from this issue, but till now it has not been completely successful in this. At the same time, the aggressive way in which Rahul Gandhi has raised this issue seems to be having an impact."
Aditi Phadnis agrees with this cautiously.
She says, "Rahul Gandhi seems to be working on a long term political strategy and wants to keep this issue alive as long as possible. However, it is not that simple that the India alliance is doing what it should do. But yes, if they adopt their strategy correctly, they can get the benefit of the current situation."
After the assembly elections held earlier this year, the NDA was seen trying to expand its political ambit and push its agenda. During this period, BJP government came to power in Bengal for the first time.
On this, Aditi Phadnis said, "At present, I see very little possibility of major reforms and important bills being passed through Parliament. There is a lot of bitterness in the political environment at the moment and non-NDA parties will probably be very cautious about how close they appear to the ruling coalition."
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