Allies Urge Congress to Remember Prior to Delhi Election
New Delhi:
Cracks within the INDIA opposition bloc continued rapidly Wednesday morning after the Samajwadi Party and the Trinamool Congress supported the Aam Aadmi Party – and appeared to criticize the Congress, the bloc leader – ahead of the February 5 Delhi Assembly election.
The AAP and the Congress are competing in this election separately, a situation that has sparked further speculation about the survival of an INDIA bloc that performed well in last year’s Lok Sabha poll, but has since suffered multiple state election defeats and internal conflicts.
The internal conflicts – particularly between the AAP and the Congress – escalated into calls by the former for the latter to be removed as bloc leader and ousted from the alliance. This came after strong remarks by the Congress’ Delhi leader, Ajay Maken, directed at AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.
“The SP… Congress… AAP. All of us desire victory in Delhi. We want this coalition to continue… the AAP is in a strong position in Delhi… but it has turned into AAP vs Congress in Delhi,” SP chief Akhilesh Yadav lamented, “It is my recommendation that the INDIA bloc should back the AAP…”
Mr Yadav also highlighted that INDIA bloc members had pledged to support local, or regional, parties wherever they have a better chance of defeating the BJP. “When the alliance was established it was stated, ‘wherever a local party is strong, INDIA will bolster it. AAP is strong in Delhi… that is why Samajwadi Party has extended its support…” Mr Yadav stated, “Our goal is that the BJP should be defeated…”
Speaking on behalf of Bengal’s ruling Trinamool, senior leader Abhishek Banejee made the same argument, and mentioned Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, another INDIA bloc member.
“When the INDIA bloc was formed, we decided that wherever regional parties are strong (we will) allow them to take on the BJP. For instance, DMK in Tamil Nadu and JMM (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha) in Jharkhand. So, in Delhi, who do you think can defeat BJP? It is AAP,” Mr Banerjee remarked.
The DMK and JMM examples are relevant because, in each case, the Congress has taken a backseat.
In Tamil Nadu, the Congress played a subordinate role to the DMK in the 2021 Assembly election and last year’s Lok Sabha poll, with INDIA bloc members prevailing in both instances. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, during the November state election, the JMM, supported by the Congress, achieved a significant victory over the BJP.
It is not only Mr Yadav and Mr Banerjee who have expressed support for the INDIA bloc over the rivalry between its components. National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah emphasized the alliance as “permanent” last week. “… it is for every day and every moment,” he declared. The NC partnered with the Congress for last year’s Jammu and Kashmir election, which it won without any assistance from the larger party.
Despite being allies in theory, the AAP and the Congress have clashed since the Haryana election in October last year, when the two failed to reach an agreement on seat sharing. The Congress was subsequently defeated by the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Haryana setback drew criticisms from the SP and Trinamool, both of whom made direct references to their unsuccessful seat-sharing negotiations with the bloc leader.
Fueled by similar disputes – including for Delhi’s seven Lok Sabha seats in the April-June federal election – the Congress and the AAP confirmed in December that they will be opponents this time around.