Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s reluctance to accept Nitish Kumar as the convener of the INDIA grouping, apart from her fierce opposition to a caste census, robbed the Mumbai conclave of some of the lustre of an otherwise successful exercise.

Although the top leaders decided to keep these points of discord under wraps, the sources revealed that Mamata’s “rigid” approach surprised everybody. There was consensus on Bihar chief minister Nitish’s name as the convener but Mamata did not agree, the sources said. Her reservations about Nitish had become obvious on Thursday night itself during the course of informal discussions even as the Congress had no objection to the Bihar chief minister’s name.

It was then decided that the decision on the choice of convener would be put off. But Mamata’s objection to a caste census was not taken kindly by many leaders who felt this position was not in tune with the overall direction of INDIA politics. The obvious tilt of the Opposition politics towards the poor and backward castes is not open to dispute.
While parties like the RJD, Samajwadi Party and the DMK have been campaigning for a caste census, Rahul Gandhi has also publicly supported the idea.

While the move to announce committees on various tasks without an overall convener appeared incongruous, the sources said the issue should be resolved soon because no other leader enjoyed greater support for the key assignment than Nitish. The JDU leader, who carries the taint of sitting in the BJP’s lap for too long, has been actively engaged in bringing the secular parties together after aligning with the RJD and the Congress.

The next meeting of the Opposition parties will happen in Delhi. The Mumbai meeting otherwise went off smoothly with every party conceding the need for flexibility and compromise. On both days, leaders stressed that personal and political differences should be overcome at all costs to save the country from descending into totalitarian rule. There was unanimity among the leaders on the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s continuance would destroy democracy.

Many leaders stressed the need to create a power communication system that confronts the government on every issue without any loss of time. Arguing that elections were about perception, it was suggested that a forceful articulation of bare facts would show to the people that Modi “was not only corrupt, but the most corrupt politician of India”. Suggestions to counter the falsehood that Modi has enhanced India’s image abroad also came up, apart from the need to expose his failures on the China front.

At the meeting on Friday, Congress leader Rahul insisted on a clear action plan that would explain to the people what INDIA would offer. He said that the seat-sharing exercise should be completed by October and joint public rallies should start.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said at a media conference after the meeting: “We see the destruction of autonomous bodies. Special sessions of Parliament aren’t called when Manipur burns for months, millions of people suffer because of note-bandi and lockdown, and when China grabs our land. The agencies are used to frighten opponents. The poor’s concerns are not addressed as Modi works for a select few corporates. We are slowly drifting towards dictatorship.”

The dominant feeling at the meeting was that Modi’s charisma was on the wane and the people were feeling disenchanted with communal politics, and issues like unemployment and high prices had become core concerns.

The INDIA group appears to have arithmetic on its side, with the combined vote of the 28 parties being slightly more than the BJP-led NDA’s,
and the remaining time before the 2024 elections can be used to create chemistry with the voters, the participants agreed.

AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, who was earlier suspected to be the odd man in the coalition, demonstrated remarkable commitment this time. He said: “This is an alliance of people and no leader has come here for any post. We all have come together to save the country. Big forces have been activated to create confusion and conflict. Rumours are spread about confrontation between parties. But we are going to stay together.”