New Delhi: The DMK, miffed with the Congress for supporting Vijay’s TVK after the Tamil Nadu elections, will be staying away from Monday’s INDIA bloc meeting.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) pulled out of the Opposition alliance last year itself.
The CPI(M) has expressed concerns to the Congress over rhetoric during the Kerala Assembly election campaign, but is still expected to attend the meeting.
If the scenario ahead of INDIA bloc’s first meeting in two years looks gloomy, the Congress sought to paint an optimistic picture on Sunday.
Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh suggested that the group remains united.
“Like India, the INDIA Janbandhan continues to stand united through its diversity,” Ramesh posted on X.
He said that 23 parties will take part in the discussions at the Constitution Club, claiming that some parties won’t be able to attend though they strongly oppose the Narendra Modi government.
“23 political parties have confirmed participation in the INDIA janbandhan meeting at Constituti
on Club, New Delhi on Monday June 8, 2026, at 12 noon. There are some parties who have expressed their inability to attend this particular meeting for their own reasons – even though they have conveyed their strong opposition to the Modi Govt’s policies and actions that are snatching away the right to vote for millions of Indians, assaulting the Constitution daily, attacking Opposition leaders through investigative agencies, seriously damaging the livelihoods of crores of Indians, breaking household budgets through relentless price rise, betraying the hopes and aspirations of lakhs of youth, dampening investment climate, and compromising the national interest by its foreign policy,” Ramesh wrote.
Mamata Banerjee’s lifeline
Besides the Congress top brass, among other prominent leaders who will be present at the meeting is Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.
The former West Bengal Chief Minister is in a tight corner. Beaten soundly by the BJP in the recent Assembly polls, which ended her 15-year stint as CM, Mamata’s party is facing a serious existential crisis. Almost 60 of its 80 elected MLAs have revolted with Ritabrata Banerjee being endorsed by the Speaker as Leader of Opposition.
There’s a strong buzz that many of TMC’s MPs – 28 in Lok Sabha and 13 in Rajya Sabha – might also ditch the party. Bobby Hakim, one of the party’s elected MLAs, has resigned as Kolkata’s Mayor, dozens of councillors have quit and many others arrested by police on various criminal charges.
Not only does Mamata need to keep the remaining of her flock together, she also has to renew her bond with Congress and others to stay relevant in politics.