After 26 opposition parties on Tuesday unanimously decided on the name of their alliance, INDIA, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the idea behind it stemmed from their efforts to protect the country from the multi-dimensional assault on it.

Talking to PTI, the Left leader said in the present circumstances, their priority is to safeguard the secular, democratic character of the Indian republic, which is under assault. "For that, it is essential that those mounting such assaults should be kept away from controlling the government and State power. So all of us have to unite to save India. The idea was that of saving India," he said.

INDIA stands for Indian Developmental Inclusive Alliance. Yechury, who attended the opposition meeting in Bengaluru, said the name also suggests that "we are for India".

"Then let us concretise what India is. Through the discussions, this emerged. Now, we will begin discussions at the level of the states. In some states, the situation is such that there is direct confrontation, like in Kerala where one front is led by the Congress and the other by us. This will continue.

"Also, because of this, the BJP has not even got a single MLA there, forget an MP. In the recent panchayat polls in Bengal, it is the Congress, the Left and the secular forces that took on both the BJP and the TMC," he said.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader said the idea is to maximise the pooling of the anti-BJP votes, so that a division in the opposition votes does not give the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) the sort of advantage it has been enjoying during the last two terms at the Centre.

On the absence of a face to lead the opposition, Yechury pointed out that even during the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, there was no such face against the ruling NDA led by then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but the government formed after the election lasted for 10 years.

The opposition is likely to name a convenor at its next meeting in Mumbai and also form committees that will lead its campaign. "We got a face then (2004) who served the country for 10 years. So an alternative will emerge," Yechury said.