News Brief
Eleven Parties, Comprising 91 MPs, Neither With The BJP Nor Congress
The joint opposition meeting in Bengaluru on 17-18 July (Photo: Congress/Twitter)
There are 65 parties that have aligned themselves with either the BJP or the Congress-led coalition for the upcoming general elections. However, there are 11 additional parties with a total of 91 Members of Parliament (MPs) who have decided to remain neutral at this time.
Among the neutral parties, three of them govern significant states, namely Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Odisha. These states collectively contribute 63 members to the Lok Sabha, where the Congress and other opposition parties have been marginalised.
On Wednesday (19 July), the Congress and 25 other opposition parties introduced the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) as a united front to challenge the BJP-led NDA. Currently, the NDA consists of 39 parties.
The parties that have not aligned with either the BJP-led coalition or the Congress-led coalition are YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Bahujan Samaj Party, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Janata Dal (Secular), Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP), and SAD (Mann).
The YSRCP and BJD, ruling Andhra Pradesh and Odisha respectively, have shown their support for the BJP-led government in the Parliament. Both parties had a strong performance in the 2019 elections.
The BRS, the ruling party in Telangana since its formation in 2014, initially explored the possibility of joining an opposition alliance earlier this year. However, they are not part of the newly formed coalition.
The Mayawati-led BSP, with nine MPs, has also decided not to join the opposition alliance.
The BSP, which has previously ruled Uttar Pradesh, has announced that it will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election as well as the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana on its own.
BJD leader and Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, criticised the BJP for not providing sufficient support to the state in central schemes. He has instructed party MPs to raise this issue during the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament starting on 20 July.
AIMIM, led by Asaduddin Owaisi, expressed its discontent with being excluded from the opposition alliance. Owaisi said they were being treated like "political untouchables."
With a significant presence in Hyderabad and its surrounding areas in Telangana, AIMIM aims to expand its reach in states like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Karnataka.
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