NDA vs INDIA | Alliance games

Entrenchment has begun on both the ruling side and in the Opposition camp. Now to go beyond the semantics and work the poll mathematics

Mamata Banerjee speaking at the Opposition conclave in Bengaluru; (Photo: ANI)

July 18 will perhaps go down in Indian political history as the day the battle line for the 2024 Lok Sabha election was drawn—Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s National Democratic Alliance (NDA) versus the Opposition’s INDIA. Only that INDIA here stands for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, the unwieldy new name coined only for its striking acronym and adopted by the alliance of 26 parties that assembled in Bengaluru in their quest to defeat Modi and his BJP war machine in next summer’s general election. The same day, leaders of 38 parties gathered in Delhi under the banner of the BJP-led NDA to announce their intent to fight under the leadership of Modi for the third consecutive time.