The Congress confirmed on Monday what many predicted, as well as what AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal stated on Sunday: there would be no partnership for the Delhi Assembly election, which is scheduled for early next year.
The party’s former Delhi (North-West) Lok Sabha MP, Udit Raj, said that Devender Yadav, the acting leader of his party’s Delhi branch, “had already said we will not have any alliance.” “Where does the topic of a seat-share agreement come up when Congress has already said it?
“It means they (the AAP) are afraid and want to create an environment that compromises the Congress. Otherwise, when this has been clarified, then it should not happen again. A week ago, Delhi Congress had said that we would not make an alliance with anyone…” he said.
Arvind Kejriwal, the former chief minister of Delhi, denied on Sunday that his party and the Congress or any other INDIA bloc partner will form an alliance for the Delhi poll.
The AAP and Congress competed jointly in the Lok Sabha elections, but the BJP won all of the seats. The AAP and Congress also held seat-sharing negotiations prior to the Haryana Assembly elections in October, but the talks fell through, and the BJP won the polls.
The AAP-Congress break-up has been mocked by the BJP, which is seen as the AAP’s clearest rival in the February election. “After coming together for the Lok Sabha election… they lacked ambition and could not win any seat in Delhi. Now, this is the ‘friendship with benefits’ model. Here they are saying they will contest against each other but come together in Parliament,” Shehzad Ponnawalla said.
The BJP’s newest recruit – former AAP leader Kailash Gahlot – also threw in a jab.
“I think people of Delhi have decided to bring the BJP to power. In the Lok Sabha election, there was no impact of alliance (between AAP and the Congress). People of Delhi are troubled due to damaged roads, overflowing sewers and other issues.”
Meanwhile, Mr Kejriwal will personally run point on his party’s solo bid to win a third consecutive Delhi Assembly election, sources said. The ex-Chief Minister – who resigned September after (finally) securing bail in the alleged liquor policy scam – will “micro-manage” the re-election bid.
That bid has already begun; the AAP has announced a preliminary list of 11 candidates, three of whom are incumbent MLAs who have been eliminated to avoid the anti-incumbency effect.
Two of the eleven identified candidates have just joined from the Congress.
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Source: NDTV
