Members of the newly-named INDIA coalition are set to hold a third round of meetings in Mumbai at the end of August. The third meeting of the bloc will be hosted jointly by the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP's Sharad Pawar faction, with support from the Congress. The Mumbai Summit -- as it is being called by INDIA bloc parties - is significant as discussions regarding seat sharing are likely to be taken up.
The 26 opposition parties which are part of the opposition alliance are – the Congress, TMC, DMK, AAP, JD(U), RJD, JMM, NCP (Sharad Pawar), Shiv Sena (UBT), SP, NC, PDP, CPI(M), CPI, RLD, MDMK, Kongunadu Makkal Desia Katchi (KMDK), VCK, RSP, CPI-ML (Liberation), Forward Bloc, IUML, Kerala Congress (Joseph), Kerala Congress (Mani), Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), and the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK). At the second unity meeting in Bengaluru, the 26 opposition parties agreed to the new name of the alliance INDIA, which was proposed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. In their 'Samuhik Sankalp (joint resolution) released after the Bengaluru meeting, the parties expressed their steadfast resolve to safeguard the idea of India as enshrined in the Constitution.