A mega rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan is every political party’s dream come true. The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)’s first rally there on Sunday was significant on several counts. It showed the inherent strength of the Opposition grouping, the ability to overcome friction in seat sharing for a larger cause, and most importantly giving political space to each other and sharing each other’s concerns.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) initially planned the rally to protest against Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest. But the allies later decided to focus on a bigger cause of saving democracy.

INDIA bloc’s biggest rally

The show of strength came weeks before the general elections as leaders of the bloc demanded the release of Kejriwal and former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren. The leaders alleged that the country’s Opposition was being strangled and stripped of a level playing field ahead of the polls.

Heads of over 10 parties, two chief ministers, and five former chief ministers attended the “Loktantra Bachao Rally” Roughly 10,000 people gathered on a hot afternoon, for what was the largest public meeting of the INDIA bloc. It was also the first time the Trinamool Congress attended an INDIA rally.

Who said what

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of match-fixing ahead of the polls. Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita, said Mother India is in pain while Priyanka Gandhi Vadra referred to Ramayana and Lord Ram to hit out at the BJP.

Sunita, who took the stage at a rally for the first time, read out the six guarantees. Her presence was also significant against the backdrop of discussions about who could be the possible successor to Kejriwal.

Kejriwal’s six guarantees

“If voted to power, the INDIA bloc will fulfil six guarantees, including good hospitals and education,” Sunita said quoting Kejriwal’s message. She said there will be no power cuts. “Second, electricity would be free for poor people. Third, we will build government schools in every village. Fourth, we will build Mohalla Clinics in every village. We will make a multi-specialty government hospital in every district.” Sunita said everyone would get free treatment. “The fifth guarantee is that farmers would be given the correct price for the crops. Sixth, the people of Delhi have faced injustice in the last 75 years. We will make Delhi a full state if the INDIA bloc comes to power.”

Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana in the limelight

Soren’s wife, Kalpana, said that no one could prove the allegations against her husband and Kejriwal while urging people to vote for the INDIA bloc parties to save democracy. “No matter how big one becomes, one cannot be the greatest. The biggest thing is the public. Therefore, you will have to use your vote properly in the coming elections. Also, the INDIA alliance will have to win. Kejriwal is in jail for 10 days. Hemant Soren was arrested two months ago. Till now no one has been able to prove the allegations against him. Your vote is the biggest court.”

Mehbooba Mufti among key speakers

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti , who was among one of several women leaders to address the rally, said people were being jailed without any investigation and that India was going through troubled times. “We have seen this happening in Kashmir and now it is happening across the country. Jammu and Kashmir is a laboratory to test plans and then these plans are implemented across the country.”

Banerjee skips the Ramlila meeting

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee skipped the rally but sent two members of Parliament (MP) including Derek O’Brien. In West Bengal, campaigning for former MP Mahua Moitra, she dared the BJP to win at least 200 seats. She said that in the 2021 Bengal assembly election in Bengal, the BJP claimed it would get 200 seats but got less than 80. Dubbing the BJP as a ‘jumla (rhetoric)’ party, Banerjee accused it of “peddling lies” regarding the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

On March 11, the Union government notified the rules for CAA four years after the law was passed. The CAA seeks to fast-track citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.

INDIA loses another ally

Even as the INDIA bloc organised the rally at the Ramlila Maidan, it lost another ally. Apna Dal on Sunday broke away from the bloc and allied with Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. The two parties floated the PDM Nyay Morcha, calling it a front to bring justice to Pichda (backward), Dalits, and Muslims. Former Apna Dal ally Samajwadi Party (SP) coined a similar PDA acronym for Pichda, Dalit, and Alpasankhyak (minorities) ahead of the polls. Apna Dal chief Krishna Patel blamed SP chief Akhilesh Yadav for quitting the INDIA bloc.

Tariq Anwar to fight from Katihar

Hours after the Delhi rally, the Congress’ Central Election Committee (CEC) met and cleared veteran leader Tariq Anwar’s candidature from Bihar’s Katihar.