AAP says no alliance with Congress for Delhi Assembly election

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will be fighting the Delhi Assembly elections independently despite contesting the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the Congress, said the party’s Delhi State convenor Gopal Rai on Thursday.

“Earlier as well, we made it clear that the alliance with the Congress was only for the general election, and we fought it together with honesty. For the State Assembly elections, there is no need for the INDIA alliance. We will fight the polls with the help of the people of Delhi, and we will win,” said Mr. Rai. The Delhi Assembly elections are scheduled to take place early next year.

Speaking to the media after holding a meeting with AAP MLAs regarding the performance of the party, which lost the four Lok Sabha seats it contested in Delhi, Mr. Rai said the election was fought under “tough circumstances”, and the 4-3 seat-sharing deal with the Congress “helped decrease the margin of AAP’s loss” compared to the 2019 general elections.

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“Reports from across the country show that the people have reacted to the way in which Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other leaders of the party were put in jail. Despite a verdict by a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in favour of the Delhi government over control of services, the Centre overturned the ruling. We hope that after the Lok Sabha results, the Centre will change its ways of trying to snatch the power of Delhi,” Mr. Rai said.

He added that though there was disappointment among party workers after the Chief Minister’s arrest in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, AAP had remained united even in difficult circumstances and fought the elections well against BJP’s “dictatorship”.

“All party MLAs will concentrate on development work in their individual Assembly constituencies in preparation for the State election next year,” Mr. Rai said, adding that in the last two months, many projects could not be carried out as the Lok Sabha polls were being held.

“It was decided in the meeting that every Saturday and Sunday, all MLAs will hold a meeting with party workers to discuss development projects and speed up their implementation. A discussion will also be held with the workers of Delhi’s AAP workers on June 13,” he said. He added that as long as Mr. Kejriwal is in jail, the party will simultaneously continue its fight against “dictatorship” and ensure that the development of Delhi continues.

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‘Will strenghthen party’

At a similar meeting held by the Delhi Congress to take stock of their performance, State chief Devender Yadav said that while the party accepts “with humility” the results of the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi, it will spare “no effort” in strengthening its cadres at the grass-root level and reach out to people at every polling booth to understand their problems.

“Congress workers will maintain the momentum of their hard work in the Lok Sabha elections, and the party will spare no effort to motivate and activate the party cadres,” Mr. Yadav said, adding that Congress’s 15 years of rule over the State (from 1998 to 2013) is a “shining example” for all.