'Maken's snub likely to prove suicidal for party'

New Delhi: Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken’s rejection of the Aam Aadmi Party’s reported offer to contest three of the seven seats in 2019 Lok Sabha elections in the national capital may prove “suicidal” for the party, which has reportedly been losing elections after elections since 2013.

Soon after reports emerged that AAP has offered Congress to contest three seats in Delhi, Mr Maken said when Delhiites have continuously rejected chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s government, why should his party come to his rescue.

Political pundits said Mr Maken’s open rejection of AAP’s offer may prove suicidal for Congress, which was first thrown out of power after three consecutive terms in Delhi in the 2013 Assembly elections.

In 2013 polls, Congress managed to win just eight of the 70 Assembly seats while the newbie AAP was able to win 28 seats. It was with the support of Congress that Mr Kejriwal was able to form a government for 49 days.

Again in the Lok Sabha elections, Congress could not win even a single seat in Delhi. The party had to face humiliating defeat in 2015 Assembly elections when it could not secure even a single seat and AAP was able to win 67 of the 70 seats. Again, in the municipal elections, Congress was just able to increase its vote share. However, it was not able to wrest control from BJP in any of the three municipal bodies.

There is a perception in the political circles that AAP has a strong vote bank in unauthorised colonies and jhuggi clusters in Delhi. These voters earlier used to support Congress. In such a scenario, if the two outfits contest against each other,

A local Congress leader said that it would be better if the Congress and the AAP join hands to take on Mr Modi in the Lok Sabha elections. “If their joining hands does not work in Lok Sabha, they can again  contest separately in the 2020 Assembly elections.”

BJP could become a natural beneficiary. BJP could win the three municipal bodies only because the erstwhile traditional vote bank of Congress was split between AAP and Congress.

There is a feeling in a section of the Congress workers that if the party’s traditional vote bank is again split, it would prove suicidal for the party in the future elections.