The Opposition’s four-hour conference on Tuesday ended with the 26 parties announcing a new political alliance called INDIA, which stands for Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance. They cast the election of 2024 as a conflict between the BJP and the rest of the nation. According to insiders, the name was chosen before the leaders met on Tuesday morning.
Also Read: All You Need To Know About ‘INDIA’ For The 2024 Lok Sabha Elections
However, did you know that other political alliances were extremely popular? Here is a list of alliances:
-
The Left Front (West Bengal)
In the Indian state of West Bengal, a political alliance of left-leaning political parties is known as the Left Front. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), the All India Forward Bloc, the Revolutionary Socialist Party, the Marxist Forward Bloc, the Revolutionary Communist Party of India, and the Biplabi Bangla Congress were among the founding parties when it was established in January 1977. Later, additional parties joined, most notably the Communist Party of India.
Image Source: NewsClick
From 1977 through 2011, the Left Front governed the state for seven consecutive terms, including two under Buddhadev Bhattacharya and five under Jyoti Basu as Chief Minister. The alliance’s major power is the CPI(M). The Left Front lost power in 2011 after failing to win most West Bengal Legislative Assembly seats.
-
UPA:
The Indian National Congress led the United Progressive Alliance, a centre-left political alliance in India. When no one party won the majority in the 2004 general election, it was founded with the help of left-leaning political parties.
Image Source: Wikipedia
After then, the UPA ruled India for two terms (from 2004 to 2014) before falling out with their primary opposition, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Before being disbanded on July 18, 2023, to create the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance before the general election of 2024, the UPA ruled seven Indian States and union territories.
-
Janata Parivar:
Due to her decision, Indira Gandhi lost much support and paid the price in the elections. Mrs Gandhi demanded new elections on January 18 while also releasing some political prisoners. Many people remained behind bars until she was removed from power, and Moraji Desai took over.
Image Source: OnManorama
The Indian National Congress (Organisation), the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the Bharatiya Lok Dal, and the Praja Socialist Party, four opposing parties, resolved to contest the elections under a political alliance known as the Janata alliance on January 20. The alliance utilised the Bhartiya Lok Dal symbol on the ballot papers as their own. The Janata Parivar won a comfortable majority in that election.
-
Maha Vikas Agadi:
The Maha Vikas Aghadi, also known as the Maharashtra Development Front or MVA, is a state-level political alliance that was established following the 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election. Uddhav Thackeray of the Samajwadi Party leads it and includes Sharad Pawar of the NCP and Sonia Gandhi of the INC, as well as support from a number of other political parties, including Independent MLAs. Currently, MVA is the recognised opposition in the Maharashtra Legislature.
Image Source: Bharatpedia
After a meeting on November 26, 2019, Uddhav Thackeray was chosen to lead the MVA. On November 28, 2019, he was sworn in as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
-
Mahagathbandahan:
Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Mayawati of the Bahujan Samaj Party, along with Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal, led the anti-Congress and anti-BJP political alliance Mahagathbandhan, which was formed in the run-up to the 2019 general election.
Image Source: iChowk
In the 2019 general elections, Mahagathbandhan ran against BJP candidate Narendra Modi. According to The Tribune India, the Mahagathbandhan alliance was envisioned as a “bulwark against a second term for BJP,” but it received minimal support from voters and was “virtually swept away.”
In June 2019, Mayawati attributed the alliance’s defeatof the alliance in the general elections to the Samajwadi Party’s internal divisions and its inability to win over voters from lower castes. Mayawati disbanded the coalition. According to The Week, the “undoing of the Mahagathbandhan” has been verified by the Samajwadi Party.
