Did Nitish Kumar Oppose 'I.N.D.I.A' as Oppn Bloc's Name?

With the acronym ‘I.N.D.I.A’ (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) being tabled as the name for the Opposition alliance, one of the leaders of the reportedly needed some convincing.

According to reports, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar questioned as to how an opposition alliance could be named INDIA. He expressed reservations about the acronym with the letters 'NDA' in it. He was also against the word Democratic for D as NDA's D stands for democratic.

The Bihar CM had suggested names like - India Main Front and India Main Alliance. A few other leaders had also suggested different alternatives like "Save India Alliance" and "We for India". As most parties seemed to approve of INDIA, Nitish Kumar reportedly acquiesced.

"All right, if all of you are okay with it (the name INDIA), then it is fine," the Bihar CM reportedly said.

Earlier on Tuesday, leaders from 26 opposition parties met in Bengaluru and announced the name of the alliance INDIA in a bid to take on the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The anti-NDA bloc was previously called UPA (United Progressive Alliance). It was formed in 2004 and is the coalition of centre-left political parties in India. It was formed with a coalition of around 10 political parties with Sonia Gandhi as its chairperson.

It is learned that Rahul Gandhi had pitched the name of INDIA for the opposition alliance to project itself as a united front and battle it out against the BJP in next year's parliamentary election.

Meanwhile, the BJP took a dash at the Opposition saying that the name will not change their character and the 2024 Lok Sabha battle is going to be 'Bharat Mata versus INDIA'.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during meeting of the NDA on Tuesday, said that alliances built on negativity never succeeded and asserted that the NDA will win a third consecutive term. The NDA conclave was held hours after the Opposition meet in Bengaluru.

The Opposition on the other hand claimed that the prime minister was afraid of the Opposition huddle and hence the sudden NDA meeting was called, where 38 parties had attended.

The INDIA alliance finalized ‘Jeetega Bharat’ as the combine's tagline, setting the tone for their 2024 Lok Sabha campaign. The Hindi tagline means "India will win" and is likely to be replicated in several regional languages.

According to the said sources, several leaders also felt that the word ‘Bharat’ should feature in the name of the alliance.

Also Read: Bengaluru Oppn Meet: UPA Renamed To 'INDIA' | Check What It Stands For