INDIA BLOC FISSURES DEEPEN

Allies rally behind AAP for Delhi polls, Congress left cornered

NT Correspondent

New Delhi: The INDIA bloc, a collective of opposition parties that jointly fought the Lok Sabha polls, is in growing turmoil, with member parties criticising the Congress for its approach towards the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and some even questioning the relevance of the alliance due to the lack of coordination among allies. With the Congress and AAP fighting separately in the Delhi assembly polls due on 5 February, most other parties in the alliance have, one after another, in no uncertain terms, made it known that they are supporting Team Kejriwal in this contest, reports The Print.

To make matters worse for the Congress, some of its own leaders are doubting its prospects in the polls. The Congress finds itself in a pickle over former Maharashtra chief minister and senior leader Prithviraj Chavan’s remarks, made in Mumbai Wednesday, that in the absence of an alliance between the AAP and the Congress, the former was on course to win the Delhi polls. Sandeep Dikshit, fielded by the Congress against AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal in the New Delhi assembly seat, shot back, advising Chavan to contest on an AAP ticket. “They have no idea about the situation in Delhi. But if he is so impressed by the AAP, then he might as well contest on an AAP ticket,” Dikshit said.

Chavan sought to clarify on X that his remarks had been interpreted out of context. “I had said that if INDIA alliance had fought together, then its victory would have been assured. Now that all major parties are in the fray, it has become an open election. The Congress party has gained tremendous momentum and I am sure we will emerge victorious,” Chavan posted Thursday. If that was not enough, two INDIA parties, the National Conference (NC) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), have questioned the very existence of the alliance.

With the Congress losing its post-Lok Sabha glow, owing to its defeats in the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly polls, the INDIA bloc has been in the doldrums for some time now. The non-Congress parties of the alliance have been cornering the principal opposition party over its poor strike rate in direct fights against the BJP. Jammu and Kashmir CM and NC vice-president Omar Abdullah Thursday told the media that the INDIA bloc lacked clarity on agenda and leadership. He was speaking to reporters in Jammu when he said that “no INDIA bloc meeting was being held”. “It would be nice if a meeting would be called so that we can get clarity. If the alliance was only for parliamentary elections, then we should wind it up, otherwise, if it’s for the assembly elections as well then we need to work together,” he added.

Abdullah was responding to a question on remarks made by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav Wednesday that the INDIA bloc had been formed with an eye on the Lok Sabha polls. Addressing a press conference in Bihar’s Buxar district, when Yadav was asked about the state of the national-level alliance, he said: “You are asking me about the Delhi polls? It was already decided that the INDIA alliance was for Lok Sabha (polls). And in Bihar, we are united from the beginning.” Tejashwi’s remarks also assume significance in view of assembly polls due in Bihar later this year.

The Samajwadi Party (SP), whose ties with the Congress have nosedived in the last few months, was the first in throwing its weight behind AAP for the Delhi polls Tuesday, following which Kejriwal thanked SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. “Thank you very much Akhileshji. You always support and stand with us. I and the people of Delhi are grateful for this,” he wrote on X.