Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has invited all the INDIA bloc members to join his proposed protest for the restoration of J&K's statehood.

Abdullah, who attended today's INDIA bloc meeting, said that he will be writing to all the opposition parties to join the march at the start of the Monsoon session of parliament next month.

Last week, Abdullah's party announced to take the fight for the restoration of J&K's statehood and constitutional rights to Delhi.  The party said that all its MLAs and MPs will hold a protest at the start of the Monsoon session.

Abdullah, who had chosen cooperation and not confrontation with the Centre, appears to be pressing a reset button to reclaim his political agenda.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has invited all the INDIA bloc members to join his proposed protest for the restoration of J&K's statehood.

Abdullah, who attended today's INDIA bloc meeting, said that he will be writing to all the opposition parties to join the march at the start of the Monsoon session of parliament next month.

Last week, Abdullah's party announced to take the fight for the restoration of J&K's statehood and constitutional rights to Delhi.  The party said that all its MLAs and MPs will hold a protest at the start of the Monsoon session.

Abdullah, who had chosen cooperation and not confrontation with the Centre, appears to be pressing a reset button to reclaim his political agenda.

Hard talk, airing of grievances and a message of unity - this was the big takeaway from the INDIA bloc meeting -- held today in the aftermath of a series of setbacks. While key leader Mamata Banerjee's party was crumbling by the hour, the DMK was absent. Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party had distanced itself and the CPM was upset over Congress criticism of its former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. 

Amid the shifting dynamics that saw the Congress come up on top with Kerala under its belt and a driving seat in Tamil Nadu, the overriding message of unity came from the Grand Old Party. 

"United we stand, divided we fall," sources quoted Rahul Gandhi as saying, pointing to the bigger national picture during the three-hour meeting at Delhi's Constitution Club. He warned allies against "pulling down each other" and urged them to fight together against the BJP "for the sake of the country and the Constitution".

United we stand, divided we fall was the message from Rahul Gandhi at the INDIA bloc meet on Monday, underscoring that there's safety in numbers.

For this to happen, Rahul Gandhi warned, allies should acknowledge the need to work together to fend off the challenge from the principal rival, the BJP.

At the meeting, Rahul Gandhi warned allies against "pulling down each other" and urged them to fight together against the BJP "for the sake of the country and the Constitution".

Trinamool Chief Mamata Banerjee's troubles have compounded as she was in a huddle with the INDIA Bloc today. A group of her party's 28 MPs now say they want to join the NDA. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who was upset with the party after being removed from the post of the Whip, said going by the people's verdict, they believe that their "future political course should be aligned with the NDA". 

Nearly 20 Trinamool MPs, including her, "have decided to write to Speaker Om Birla and formally convey our desire to be part of the NDA," Ghosh Dastidar told reporters today. 

Comgress chief Mallikarjun Kharge called for the "spirit of unity" to be carried forward as the Centre's misgovernance poses several challenges.

He also said that crores of people are being deprived of their voting rights due to the Special Intensive Revision exercise.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are not part of the deliberations as they have opted out of the bloc.

The AAP has already publicly distanced itself from the bloc, while the DMK earlier announced its decision to boycott the gathering after the Congress snapped ties with it in Tamil Nadu and joined the TVK-led government.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said non-BJP governments are facing discrimination while hitting out at the Centre over rising prices of essential commodities. Apart from inflation, the Middle East was has led to a sharp rise in energy prices, impacting daily lives of citizens.

Kharge also said the "gross mismanagement of the examination system" has dashed the hopes of lakhs of aspirants. The NEET-UG 2026 examination was cancelled and a re-examination was scheduled following a widespread paper leak. The controversy sparked massive protests, Supreme Court intervention, and multiple arrests across the country. The Opposition had demanded Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.

#WATCH | Delhi | Visuals from the INDIA bloc meeting at the Constitution Club in India.
Leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Tejashwi Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Supriya Sule, Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, present. pic.twitter.com/uSvS9xk8cc

— ANI (@ANI) June 8, 2026

Top leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Omar Abdullah are attending the INDIA bloc meet.

JMM is upset with the Congress over the 'unilateral' announcement of a candidate for one of two Rajya Sabha seats from Jharkhand, while CPI(M) shot off a letter to party president Mallikarjun Kharge over the party's conduct, particularly during the Kerala polls.

In Jharkhand, two Rajya Sabha seats are up for grabs. JMM wanted to field its own candidate in both seats, but Congress nixed its plans by fielding its own candidate. The Congress-JMM alliance, though, has the requisite numbers to win both seats.

This disagreement is among the many cracks within the Opposition camp that have begun to deepen with many allies expressing displeasure with the the "high-handedness" of the Congress.

A day ahead of the INDIA bloc meet, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ruled out an alliance with the Congress. It said the Congress only wants strength for itself, adding that it backstabbed the DMK in Tamil Nadu after the state polls by allying with the TVK.

AAP also said that it cannot ally with a party that is anti-youth.

The alliance is set to deliberate on the future course of action and will aim to put a united face to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modiled government on national issues in the run-up to the next election cycle in states and the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.

The TMC is likely to raise the issue of alleged attacks on its leaders in Bengal and rally support of INDIA bloc parties. "Meeting with a common purpose and clear intent. INDIA united. Many parties look forward to meeting in the spirit of camaraderie," TMC MP Derek O'Brien said.

The recent assembly elections have, however, also brought out differences within the opposition bloc, with the CPI-M set to raise with the Congress the charge that the Left had a political understanding with the BJP in Kerala polls. The Left parties lost against the Congress-led UDF in the only state they were in power.

The CPI(M) which will be represented by its Rajya Sabha leader John Brittas at the meeting, is likely to flag the issue and seek clarifications from the Congress leadership, sources said.

Delhi: Former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal met TMC Chairperson Mamata Banerjee and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee.
(Source: TMC) pic.twitter.com/wIh6tqYIkD

— IANS (@ians_india) June 7, 2026

The last official meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was held in New Delhi on June 1, 2024, just ahead of the Lok Sabha election.

On August 7, 2025, Rahul Gandhi hosted a crucial strategy dinner for top INDIA bloc leaders at his New Delhi residence that brought together nearly 50 leaders from over 25 opposition parties, where the issue of alleged electoral manipulation, particularly the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in Bihar, was raised.

The INDIA bloc leadership has since then got together formally during consultations ahead of Parliament sessions, when opposition parties discussed floor coordination and issues to be jointly raised against the central government.

These included moving notices against the then Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, Speaker Om Birla and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, seeking their removal.

The INDIA alliance, formed ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, comprises several opposition parties that have sought to jointly challenge the BJP-led NDA at the national level.

Top leaders of opposition parties including Congress' Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, TMC's Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav of RJD and Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena (UBT), besides Left leaders and those from smaller parties, are likely to attend the INDIA bloc meeting.

While the DMK and AAP are unlikely to attend, TVK is likely to be included in the bloc.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has already publicly distanced itself from the bloc, while the DMK earlier announced its decision to boycott the gathering after the Congress snapped ties with it in Tamil Nadu and joined the TVK-led government.

As many as 23 political parties of the opposition INDIA bloc are likely to meet at Delhi's Constitution Club to redraw their strategy to take on the BJP and iron out differences amid changed power dynamics after the defeat of regional anchors TMC and DMK in the recent assembly polls.

The Congress said a day before the meeting that the alliance stands united through its diversity. Party leader Jairam Ramesh said some parties have expressed their inability to attend this meeting for their own reasons even though they have conveyed their strong opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's policies and actions.