Why Opposition Alliance's New Name I.N.D.I.A. Has Triggered Confusion

Opposition parties on Tuesday declared that their alliance to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP would be called "I.N.D.I.A." - an acronym for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.

But the renamed version of the former UPA (United Progressive Alliance) got off on a note of confusion with different versions of the acronym.

After the initial announcement, doubts emerged during the press briefing after the opposition conclave in Bengaluru.

"We have come together and discussed various points. With one voice, people supported the resolution adopted today. Our alliance will be called Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)," said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in the joint press conference.

The comment left many wondering whether they got it wrong at first.

A Congress tweet also screamed "developmental" instead of "democracy".

𝐈 - 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧
𝐍 - 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥
𝐃 - 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥
𝐈 - 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞
𝐀 - 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐀 की जीत होगी 🇮🇳

— Congress (@INCIndia) July 18, 2023

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar's tweet confirmed that the confusion was real.

“United We stand with I - Indian N - National D - Democratic I - Inclusive A – Alliance,” tweeted the veteran leader, with the hashtag #SaveDemocracy, only to edit it later. His new tweet has D for "Developmental".

United We stand with

I - Indian
N - National
D - Developmental
I - Inclusive
A - Alliance#India #SaveDemocracy

— Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) July 18, 2023

Earlier, his party leader Jitendra Awhad had put out a similar tweet expanding the acronym and adding: “In the ongoing meeting of opposition parties in Bangalore, Rahul Gandhi put forward a proposal to name this alliance as INDIA. His creativity was greatly appreciated. All the parties approved it and decided to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections under the name INDIA.”

He also said: “Let's save idea of ​​INDIA. Let's save Democracy of INDIA.”

Mamata Banerjee, speaking at the press conference on the name of the alliance, said: "BJP, can you challenge INDIA? We love our motherland, we are the patriotic people of the country, we are for farmers, Dalits, we are for the country, for the world…INDIA will win, our country will win and BJP will lose."

Rahul Gandhi said the fight was not between the opposition parties and the BJP, but it was a "fight for the idea of India that was being attacked".

"That is why this name was chosen. The fight is between NDA and INDIA, Between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and INDIA, between their (the BJP's) ideology and INDIA. You know what happens when someone stands against India, who wins," the former Congress chief said.

On who would be the face of the alliance, Mallikarjun Kharge said a coordination committee and a convenor would be named.

The name was suggested by Mamata Banerjee and there was a lot of discussion on the full form of INDIA, news agency PTI said quoting multiple sources.