The India Alliance met in New Delhi on June 8, 2026, after almost two years, in which more than 20 parties participated. This meeting was specifically called on the call of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. This time the meeting attracted the attention of political pundits and the ruling party because this meeting was called amid the weak performance of the opposition parties in the recent assembly elections and the increasing tussle within the alliance.
The meeting held at the Constitution Club in Delhi was presided over by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. The special thing is that in December 2023, the India Alliance had elected Kharge as the formal president of the alliance. Therefore, he moderated the discussion in the meeting on June 8 and also addressed the media after the meeting. Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Vesey Venugopal attended the meeting from Congress. Apart from this, big leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, D Raja, Tejashwi Yadav etc. participated.
In the India alliance, before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Congress got less importance but leaders like Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal got more importance. This time there was a change in it. Congress looked aggressive in this meeting. In fact, the India alliance is now coming together again. Let us understand how…
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Regional parties are weakening
In fact, regional parties are becoming weaker with time. The reason for this is their continuous loss of elections in the states and BJP’s victory. It first starts with the Delhi Assembly elections of February 2025, when Aam Aadmi Party and its chief Arvind Kejriwal lost the elections. After this, Rashtriya Janata Dal losing the elections in Bihar in November 2025, sidelining Nitish Kumar by removing him from the post of Chief Minister and in the latest case, Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress losing the elections badly at the hands of BJP.
Where is the strength of Congress hidden?
The strength of Congress is hidden in these election defeats. In those states where Congress was not getting a place because of regional parties, now the demands of Congress are increasing in those same states. Mamata Banerjee, who did not give any support to any opposition party including Congress in the recent Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, is looking eager to be with the ‘India Alliance’. After the defeat in Bengal and the rebellion in TMC, he no longer has enough strength left to make Congress and the alliance accept his views with his gestures.
Mamta Banerjee’s compulsion
Here the India alliance has become a compulsion for Mamata Banerjee because of the way 60 out of 80 TMC MLAs, 19 out of 29 Lok Sabha MPs, and three Rajya Sabha MPs have rebelled. More leaders may break in the times to come. All these leaders have contacts with BJP. Apart from this, after the recent election defeat, Abhishek Banerjee was attacked in Sonarpur, West Bengal. With great difficulty Abhishek was somehow able to escape from there.
The central agencies under the Modi government at the Center and the BJP government of the state are continuously tightening their grip on Abhishek Banerjee. In such a situation, Mamata Banerjee faces a split in the party as well as saving Abhishek Banerjee. At this time, if Mamata adopts an obstinate attitude towards Congress then it will not be better for her and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee. Therefore, India alliance is more of a compulsion for Mamata Banerjee.
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New equations being formed in India alliance
DMK with 22 Lok Sabha members has distanced itself from the India alliance. Mamta has become weak. If we look at the alliance, the strongest party along with Congress is Samajwadi Party and its leader Akhilesh Yadav with 37 Lok Sabha seats. He can put forward his point with force and without any hesitation. Apart from this, there is no Pan India party which can put pressure on Congress to get its point across. Congress is continuously expanding its reach by forging alliance with TVK and Chief Minister Joseph Vijay in Tamil Nadu and by talking about alliance with Jagan Mohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh and is also giving a message to the allies that it has more options.
A new turn coming in national politics?
Amidst these political developments, the meeting of India Alliance held in Delhi is giving a new turn to national politics. However, in the meeting on June 8, there was discussion on maintaining the unity of the alliance and preparing a common strategy against the BJP. Congress president Kharge criticized the foreign policy of the central government and the voter list revision (SIR) process. He alleged that crores of people may be deprived of voting rights in the coming time. Leaders of several regional parties, including Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav, demanded Congress to give more importance to allies and better coordination.
Left parties objected to some of Rahul Gandhi’s comments regarding Kerala politics, on which Rahul Gandhi clarified his stand. Concerns were also raised at the meeting over the weakening of the alliance, as some key allies stayed away from the meeting.
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