Opposition Unites Against Modi After Gandhi's Conviction.

India's opposition parties are uniting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the conviction of opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on a charge of defamation and his disqualification from parliament. The 14 main opposition parties accounted for 39% of the national vote at the last election in 2019 and won 160 seats in the 542-member parliament. However, forging a lasting unity will be difficult as Congress will have to cede space and support other groups in an alliance, and the BJP remains hugely popular with high approval ratings after nine years in power.