Arvind Kejriwal Rules Out Congress Alliance for Delhi Polls, AAP to Contest Solo

Arvind Kejriwal Rules Out Congress Alliance for Delhi Polls: Former Chief Minister of Delhi and chief of the Aam Aadmi Party, Arvind Kejriwal ruled out any form of alliance with the Congress for 2025 Assembly Elections in the capital. The move goes as a great blow to the Opposition INDIA bloc which formed with the sole objective of uprooting the BJP out of rule at the Centre.

There'll be no alliance for Delhi, said Kejriwal at a press conference in the city.

#WATCH | AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal says, "There will be no alliance in Delhi (for assembly elections)." pic.twitter.com/KlPKL9sWrY

— ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2024

The announcement therefore extends from AAP abandoning the INDIA bloc to contest the Haryana Assembly elections in October this year. AAP and Congress had tried building up an alliance in Haryana but, talks among the parties for a shared seat did not yield any results.

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Kejriwal's announcement comes also at the back of the enormous congratulatory poll results that Maha Vikas Aghadi gave a week ago in Maharashtra this month, which Congress is also part of, drawing criticism from its allies.

'Congress-AAP Alliance In Lok Sabha Polls'

It had been the case this year that the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party contested the Lok Sabha Elections in definite partnership with each other in Delhi under the folding roof of the INDIA bloc. Even campaigning was conducted for one another by both parties. Kejriwal, who was on interim bail for campaigning for elections, campaigned for the Congress and sought votes for its Opposition party in the Delhi Assembly.

The AAP contested on 4 seats while Congress on 3 seats out of 7 parliamentary constituencies in Delhi. However, neither of them could open their score as the BJP swept all 7 seats from the city.

Differently, however, contesting Delhi, the AAP contested all 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Punjab on its own, leaving the Congress in the state. The AAP is in power in Punjab with a huge majority. The Kejriwal-led party had swept the state in 2022 Assembly polls in Punjab, winning 92 out of 117 seats in the process of dislodging Congress from power.

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BJP Reacts To AAP’s Announcement

In a rather interesting turn after Kejriwal's announcement, the Bharatiya Janata Party took a jibe at the AAP and Congress as "friendship with benefits" and highlighted all the loopholes of collaboration in the state and at the national level.

“In the Lok Sabha Elections, their relation was “Hum sath sath hain (we are together)". Today, that relation has changed to “Hum aapke hain kaun (who am I to you?)". There is no mission or vision in the INDIA bloc, they only have a thirst for position and obsession for Modi," BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said.

“They fight in the states and show unity in Delhi. This is the same situation of the INDIA bloc everywhere, but they show friendship in Delhi. They have a system of friendship with benefits," he added.

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