The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is a big tent multi party political alliance of several political parties in India led by India's largest opposition party the Indian National Congress.^[2] The alliance is in opposition to the ruling National Democratic Alliance government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Indian general elections.^[3]

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Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance
Abbreviation	INDIA
Chairperson	Mallikarjun Kharge[1]
Founder	Mallikarjun Kharge Rahul Gandhi Mamata Banerjee M. K. Stalin Lalu Prasad Yadav Akhilesh Yadav Arvind Kejriwal Hemant Soren Sharad Pawar D. Raja Jayant Singh Nitish Kumar Mehbooba Mufti Uddhav Thackeray Farooq Abdullah Sitaram Yechury
Founded	17 July 2023; 9 months ago (2023-07-17)
Preceded by	United Progressive Alliance
Political position	Big tent[lower-alpha 1]
Colours	(Official)   (Alternative)
ECI Status	Not Required
Alliance	40 Parties
Seats in Lok Sabha	118 / 543
Seats in Rajya Sabha	91 / 245
Seats in State Legislative Assemblies	1,613 / 4,036
Seats in State Legislative Councils	96 / 423
Number of states and union territories in government	9 / 31
Politics of India Political parties Elections

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The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, commonly known by its backronym INDIA.^[7] is an opposition front announced by the leaders of 28 parties to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The name was proposed during a meeting in Bengaluru and was unanimously adopted by the 28 participating parties. While some sources attribute the suggestion of the name to Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Indian National Congress (INC),^[8] others mention that it was suggested by Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and chief minister of West Bengal.^[9]

The first Opposition parties' meeting, held in Patna, Bihar, was chaired by Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar on 23 June 2023, when the proposal for a new alliance was put on the table. The meet was attended by 16 Opposition parties.^[10]

The second meeting, was held in Bengaluru, Karnataka on 17–18 July. It was chaired by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi when the proposal for an alliance was accepted and ten more parties were added to the list. The alliance's name was finalized and given the name Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance. At this meeting, it was announced that the third meeting will be held in the city of Mumbai.^[11] The third meeting was held in Mumbai, Maharashtra from 31 August to 1 September. The meeting was hosted by Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray and saw Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and chief ministers of 5 states in attendance. Over the two-day deliberations, the alliance discussed major electoral issues for the upcoming general elections, carved out the coordination committee, and passed a three-point resolution to fight 2024 Indian general elections together 'as far as possible'.^[12][13]

The fourth meeting was held in New Delhi on 19 December. The meeting was primarily held to discuss seat-sharing, joint rallies, and the prime ministerial face and/or convenor of the alliance. The alliance adopted a resolution to ensure maximum use of VVPATs in upcoming elections. "To enhance confidence in elections, VVPAT slips should be directly given to voters to self-verify and place in a separate box, instead of them falling into the main box. Eventually, all VVPAT slips must be 100% counted, ensuring truly free and fair elections," read the resolution passed by the alliance at the meeting. Seat sharing was also to be done by either 31 December 2023 or mid-January 2024. It was also decided that protests will be held across the country on 22 December 2023 against the suspensions of opposition MPs in the Indian Parliament. Some leaders said that the alliance would hold a grand joint rally at Patna on 30 January 2024, the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, although this was not officially announced.^[14]

The alliance held its 5th meeting virtually with some leaders not attending.^[15] Following the meeting, the Indian National Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge was declared the alliance chairperson.^[1] Members also had discussions about seat sharing.^[16] Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, was offered the post of national convenor of the alliance which he declined.^[17] Kumar went on to join the National Democratic Alliance in the 2024 Bihar political crisis two weeks later.^[18]

The bloc held its first event together on 22 December 2023, when nationwide protests were launched against the suspensions of opposition MPs in the Indian Parliament. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, party leader Rahul Gandhi, NCP President Sharad Pawar, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury and other leaders held protests against the suspensions of MPs under the banner "Save Democracy" at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi.^[19][20]

The bloc's first joint rally was held in Patna, Bihar on 3 March 2024. The rally saw, among others, Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav, and senior Left leaders Sitaram Yechury and D. Raja. Kharge attacked Kumar for frequently changing alliances and criticised the BJP for not fulfilling its promise of jobs and neglecting the country's poor and the majority.^[21]

The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance comprises a diverse range of political parties from across India. The 41 member parties of the alliance are:^[22]

The following is the party-wise strength of I.N.D.I.A. parties in the Parliament of India:

•   background indicates INDIA alliance government ruling assemblies.

According to the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the alliance's ideology revolves around the principles of developmentalism, inclusivity, and social justice. By combining their efforts, the member parties aim to protect democratic values, promote welfare and progress, and counter what they perceive as an ideology that threatens the idea of India.^[78] It was formed with the objective of defeating the incumbent BJP led NDA in the 2024 Indian general election.

• United Opposition Forum (Assam)
• Mahagathbandhan (Bihar)
• Mahagathbandhan (Jharkhand)
• United Democratic Front (Kerala)
• Maha Vikas Aghadi (Maharashtra)
• Manipur Progressive Secular Alliance (Manipur)
• Secular Democratic Forces (Tripua)
• Secular Progressive Alliance (Tamil Nadu & Puducherry)
• Sanjukta Morcha (West Bengal)
• 2024 Indian general election
• 2024 elections in India