INDIA Bloc To Unveil Logo At Mumbai Meet Next Week, Decide On 11-Member Coordination Panel

The INDIA bloc is scheduled to hold its third meeting in Mumbai on August 30 and September 1. It will unveil its logo at this meeting.

INDIA leaders (L-R) Mamata Banerjee, Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Nitish Kumar, and Rahul Gandhi at the Bengaluru meeting.

The logo of the united opposition alliance — Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA — will be released at its next meeting to be held in Mumbai on August 30 and September 1. The design of the logo of the opposition bloc will be based on the lines of the acronym, sources said. The alliance will also decide on the names of the 11 members of the coordination committee that will be formed to oversee the working of the bloc. However, it is unclear if the committee coordinator/convenor will be chosen at this meeting.

This will be the INDIA bloc's third meeting, with the previous two having been held in Patna and Bengaluru. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge at the Bengaluru meeting said that an 11-member panel will be set up to coordinate the working of the united Opposition alliance and the names of the members will be announced at the Mumbai meeting. He also said that the Opposition party leaders had decided to put their state-level differences behind them for the sake of the nation.

This, however, seems easier said than done as the Congress and the AAP seem to be locked in bitter battles in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Chhattisgarh over various issues. The animosity seems to be more pronounced in Delhi and poll-bound Chhattisgarh. While the two parties are squabbling over schools, Delhi Services Act and mohalla clinics in Delhi, in Chhattisgarh, the primary issue seems to be that of corruption. The AAP has gone as far as to demand CM Bhupesh Baghel's resignation for allegedly turning Chhattisgarh into a "hub of corruption".

Meanwhile, things are not that good between the Congress and the CPM either as the two parties are yet to arrive at a truce in Kerala. The parties' alliance in Bengal also remains in question as TMC supremo and CM Mamata Banerjee has asked the two to break the alliance if they wanted her to be in the INDIA bloc. The Opposition's Mumbai meeting will be crucial amid these issues.