NEW DELHI: The Congress is all set for a lonely political battle in Delhi with at least two key INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) bloc partners backing Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party in the assembly elections. The Congress and the
AAP
were allies during the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi but will be contesting the assembly elections as rivals.
Kejriwal on Wednesday announced that Mamata Banerjee had announced to back AAP in Delhi assembly elections and thanked the Trinamool chief for her support. “TMC has announced support to AAP in Delhi elections. I am personally grateful to Mamata Didi. Thank you Didi. U have always supported and blessed us in our good and bad times,” the AAP chief said in a post on X. Reacting to Kejriwal’s post, senior TMC leader Derek O’ Brien said, “We have your back @AamAadmiParty”.
Yesterday TMC leader Kunal Ghosh had said that the people of Delhi will defeat the BJP in the assembly polls. “We hope that AAP government comes back there and BJP is defeated. The people of Delhi will defeat BJP,” Ghosh said.
Mamata’s support would come as big boost to Kejriwal as he faces a determined BJP in the February 5 elections. The Trinamool chief is the second regional leader to come out in support of AAP for the Delhi assembly elections.
Earlier, Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav had announced support for Arvind Kejriwal’s party in Delhi elections. “The way the AAP government has worked, we feel that they should get another chance to work here,” Akhilesh had said at a “Mahila Adalat” campaign of AAP in the presence of Arvind Kejriwal. Akhilesh Yadav’s two-line appeal was a clear hint that the SP was backing AAP and not the Congress in the Delhi assembly elections.
For the Congress, this political isolation is not new. The party, weakened by its electoral losses in Haryana and Maharashtra, faces a strong challenge from the regional allies within the INDIA bloc. The stand taken by Mamata and Akhilesh does not come as a surprise as several INDIA bloc allies have openly differed with the Congress over various issues in the recent past.
Mamata Banerjee has been the most vocal critic of the Congress and had openly questioned the functioning of the INDIA bloc under the grand-old-party. Mamata even signalled her intent to take charge of the alliance and found support of several leaders including Sharad Pawar and Lalu Prasad.
“What can I do if they cannot run the show? I do not lead the front. Those who are in leadership positions there should think about it. But still, I am maintaining my connections with the regional and national parties. If given the responsibility, though I do not want that, I can run it from West Bengal,” Mamata had said.
Akhilesh Yadav, who contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh in alliance with the Congress, charted a separate path on some key issues during the winter session of Parliament. The Samajwadi Party refused to join Congress’s offensive on the Adani “bribery” issue as Akhilesh maintained that the incidence of violence in Sambhal was far more important and deserved greater attention.
The Congress, which has been literally wiped out of Delhi, faces an uphill battle as it desperately tries to regain its lost political space. In the last two assembly elections, the party could not open its account and saw its vote share dip to alarming lows. The Congress, which has announced candidates for several seats, is promising a host of welfare schemes to people of Delhi in line with the recent trend of wooing voters.
On Wednesday, the party promised a “Jeevan Raksha Yojana” for free health insurance of up to Rs 25 lakh if voted to power in Delhi. Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot claims the proposed scheme would be a game-changer for the party. The party had earlier announced the ‘Pyaari Didi Yojana’, promising a monthly financial assistance of Rs 2,500 to women if voted to power in the national capital.
These schemes notwithstanding, it would need a Herculean effort for the grand-old-party to make its presence felt in Delhi. Ironically, none of its senior leaders, including the Gandhis, are anywhere on the ground to take up this challenge. In the absence of senior leadership, the all-out offensive against Arvind Kejriwal by Delhi Congress leaders has already created ripples in the INDIA bloc with AAP accusing the grand-old-party of helping the BJP.
The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) has echoed similar concerns. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut expressed concerns over the intense battle between AAP and Congress and said that the fight should be against the BJP in the national capital and the country.
“Congress and AAP were fighting the Lok Sabha elections together. However, the situation which has formed in the Vidhan Sabha (assembly) elections, it looks as if they are trying to help the BJP. Our fight should be against the BJP – in Delhi and the country,” Raut said. The senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader also objected to Congress labelling former Kejriwal as “deshdrohi”.
Clearly, the Congress needs to chart a clear course and not leave the Delhi campaign to its state leaders. If the party is indeed serious to challenge Kejriwal’s dominance, its national leadership should go out in the field all guns blazing.
