INDIA Bloc Meet: Mamata Hugs Sonia In Unity Show — But DMK, AAP Stay Away

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Delhi: The opposition's INDIA bloc held a key meeting in the Constitution Club in New Delhi on Monday. The main aim of the meeting was to fill cracks within opposition parties after the outcome of the recently concluded assembly polls and to present a united opposition's face to challenge the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). As per the Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, 23 opposition parties are attending the meeting. The grand old party shared images of the meeting showing leaders from the 23 opposition parties attending the meeting. to highlight the unity withing the bloc.

A picture of Mamata Banerjee hugging former Congress president Sonia Gandhi during the media is also going viral on social media.

Kharge's Opening Address::INDIA bloc chairperson and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge flagged economic, social, and foreign policy challenges faced by the nation and even criticised the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across the country at the alliance meeting at Constitution Club. In his opening remarks, Kharge hailed the alliance's unity in defeating the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-first Amendment) Bill, the Delimitation Bill, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill in the Parliament.

What Was Discussed In The Meeting:

1. It was agreed to send a letter to CJI on SIR, Vote loot and stealing elections. The letter to be delivered to the CJI very soon.
2. It was unanimously agreed to demand the immediate resignation of the Education Minister because he presided over the betrayal of lakhs of youth who appeared for NEET and CBSE exams.
3. The Union government should immediately call an all-party meeting to discuss the precarious current economic situation, unemployment, price rise, farmer and other people centric issues.
4. It was agreed that all of us parties would meet every two months. The next meeting will be held in Hyderabad in August.
5. Parliament co-ordination will continue during the Monsson Session with daily morning meetings in the office of the loP and Kharge.

List Of Opposition Parties Attending The Meeting:

1. Congress : Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal
2. Samajwadi Party : Akhilesh Yadav
3. TMC : Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee
4. RJD : Tejashwi Yadav
5. National Conference : Omar Abdullah
6. PDP : Mehbooba Mufti
7. JMM : Sarfaraz Ahmad
8. Shiv Sena UBT : Uddhav Thackeray
9. NCP SP : Supriya Sule
10. CPM : John Brittas
11. CPI : D Raja
12. CPI ML : Dipankar Bhattacharya
13. RSP : N K Premachandran
14. IUML : Sadiq Thangal
15. VCK : Thirumavalavan
16. MDMK : D Vaiko
17. Kerala Congress : K George
18. Kerala Congress (M) : Jose K Mani
19. RLP - Hanuman Beniwal
20. BAP - Bharat Adivasi Party
21. Lok Dal - Sunil Singh
22. Forward Bloc - G Devarajan
23. Shetkari Kamgar Paksh- Jayant Patil
24. Kapil Sibal - Independent MP

Key Opposition Parties Not Attending The Meeting:The DMK has already announced that it will not attend the INDIA Bloc's meeting, calling the Congress's decision to tie up with the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in Tamil Nadu a "betrayal".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoC-Mo8sWHw

TVK chief Vijay scripted history with 108 seats in Tamil Nadu. Congress, which won five seats in Tamil Nadu, extended support to Vijay to try to touch the majority mark of 118, thus breaking the long relationship with the DMK in the southern state.Meanwhile, after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had announced that it would not be a part of the INDIA bloc. AAP MP Sanjay Singh said, "We are not a part of the INDIA alliance, so the question doesn't arise of AAP taking part in the meeting."Also Read: Why TVK's Exclusion From INDIA Meet Raised Questions Over Congress-Vijay Equation | ExplainedShiva Sena (UBT)'s Uddhav Thackeray has also not come to Delhi to attend the meeting. However, Thackeay reportedly attended the meeting virtually. Rift In INDIA Bloc: the CPI(M) has also conveyed its concern to Congress over the "systematic campaign" against its leadership during the Keralam Assembly polls, but the party has decided that MP John Brittas will attend the INDIA bloc meeting.Tensions have also been reported between the Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) after the Congress unilaterally announced a candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls.However, JMM decided to bargain for the alliance's unity, giving Congress one seat to contest. JMM has announced MLA Baidyanath Ram, while Congress is set to field party secretary Pranav Jha for the Upper House polls on two seats in Jharkhand.Tamil Nadu CM Vijay meets Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa and awards him Rs 50 lakh on behalf of the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu after the chess player won the Norway Chess 2026 title.