The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: The opposition alliance of 26 parties – INDIA – has planned its next meeting for August 25 and 26, in Mumbai. At this meeting, the alliance had earlier said it plans to finalise the names for its coordination committee, joint secretariat and other panels.
The meeting will be hosted by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Deccan Herald reported. The newspaper quoted an opposition party leader as saying that the dates will be finalised after the parliament session ends.
The parties are likely to constitute “INDIA committees” for campaigns, media and agitation, the newspaper reported. “We have decided not to call it sub-committees but INDIA committees,” a senior leader said.
After the Bengaluru meeting on July 18, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge had said, “A 11-member coordination committee will be set up in Mumbai…A central secretariat will also be set up for campaign management and joint rallies and action there. The secretariat will work out of Delhi.”
The 11-member coordination committee will be representative of all parties and will decide the future course of electoral and political strategy including communication points, joint rallies, seat-sharing and other such aspects of the opposition front. Kharge added that the front will choose its president and convenor at the Mumbai meeting.
As The Wire has reported, at the previous meeting, INDIA had adopted a joint resolution that deftly accommodates the political agendas of different participants. It raises concerns over alleged attacks on India’s federal structure, Modi government’s alleged failures on the economic front, and misuse of gubernatorial offices and central investigation agencies – a criticism that parties like the Congress, DMK, TMC and AAP have constantly been raising. It hits out on the increasing attacks on Dalits, Adivasis and working classes, farmers and farm labourers – a point that is integral to the politics of parties like VCK in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Left parties that are part of the INDIA front.