INDIA bloc meeting begins in New Delhi

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INDIA bloc leaders are seen during a meeting in New Delhi on June 8, 2026. | Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

Opposition INDIA bloc meeting — to forge unity and rework their strategy to take on the BJP — began in New Delhi on June 8, 2026.

Opposition parties’ top leaders, including Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah attended the meeting.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray attended the INDIA bloc meeting virtually. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said, “Shiv Sena (UBT) remains a committed member of the INDIA alliance. Our consistent stance has been—and will continue to be—that the INDIA bloc becomes more united and stronger.”

Mr. Raut said “We will fight together against the grave challenges facing the nation and bring meaningful change in 2029.”

In his opening remarks, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said “We demonstrated our solidarity and unity in a decisive manner in the Lok Sabha on April 17, 2026, when we stood firmly together to defeat the Modi government’s malicious bills regarding delimitation.”

Mr. Kharge further said “We must now strengthen and carry forward that same spirit to confront the myriad political, economic, social, and foreign policy challenges facing the country due to the Modi government’s misgovernance.”

Mr. Kharge charged that the assault on the Constitution continues and probe agencies are persistently being used as tools to harass, intimidate, and bully political opponents.

He also highlighted that the economic environment is extremely negative and new investments are not coming in at the pace required to generate new jobs.

The Congress chief also pointed to the “complete mismanagement” of the examination system, which has dashed the hopes and aspirations of lakhs of youth.

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