Analysis: INDIA bloc closes ranks around Congress, but not without caveats

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Published - June 08, 2026 10:20 pm IST - NEW DELHI Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and other members of Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) addresses a press conference at Constitution Club of India in New Delhi on June 8, 2026. | Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap Amid a chorus from the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Left parties critiquing the Congress and urging it to be more accommodating towards its partners, Monday’s (June 8, 2026) INDIA bloc meeting also marked a moment of grudging acceptance of the Congress as the central force unifying the alliance against the BJP. Following its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress, which has often challenged the Congress’s leadership within the Opposition coalition, for the first time spoke of a possible alliance between the two parties for the 2029 general elections. In the last Lok Sabha election, despite multiple attempts by the Congress, the two parties failed to strike an alliance, with the Trinamool Congress unwilling to concede more than two seats to it. At Monday’s meeting, former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee warmly embraced Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The two were seen speaking at length before the meeting began. During her intervention, Ms. Banerjee spoke of allowing the Congress to “lead” as it is the only party with a national presence. The meeting itself had been convened at Ms. Banerjee’s insistence, as she appeared to seek support in the wake of her party’s recent setbacks. Senior Trinamool leaders said that in the course of coordinating the meeting, the Congress did not display a “touch of arrogance”, a position markedly different from the Trinamool Congress’ earlier criticism of the party. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described the Congress as the ‘glue’ that holds the INDIA bloc together. PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti also hailed Mr. Gandhi as the only leader to consistently fight the RSS. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, while emphasising that dominant regional players should have the first claim on seats in their respective States, also acknowledged the Congress’s national reach. Barring a brief exchange between Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and CPI(M) leader John Brittas, the meeting was largely free of tense moments. Mr. Gandhi, for his part, struck a conciliatory note, welcoming the criticism. Assuming a more defined leadership role, he underlined that as the largest party in the bloc, the Congress would work to unite all Opposition parties with “love and affection”. His remarks were widely seen as receptive. “You should trust us. We are committed to fighting against the BJP and the RSS. And no compromises will be made,” Mr. Gandhi said in his concluding remarks. ALSO WATCH Watch: INDIA bloc’s latest huddle: What emerged behind closed doors? | Above the Fold | 08.06.2026 alliances and coalition / politics (general) / Indian National Congress / All India Trinamool Congress Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Analysis: INDIA bloc closes ranks around Congress, but not without caveats

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Analysis: INDIA bloc closes ranks around Congress, but not without caveats

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