New Delhi:While the BJP-led NDA is together in their bid to wrest Delhi from the incumbent AAP, Arvind Kejriwal’s party and the Congress, both I.N.D.I.A. bloc allies, are fighting a bitter battle in full public glare.
The rift in the I.N.D.I.A. bloc appears to be widening as TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav have lent their support to the AAP over the Congress. While the AAP has found backing from TMC and SP, the Congress is waging a lonely crusade in the Delhi polls. The only silver lining for the Congress is that both the TMC and the SP have “negligible political clout” in the national capital. Who will benefit from the AAP vs the Congress fight for the 70-member Delhi Assembly remains to be seen?
The NDA allies, especially the JD(U) and the LJP had planned to contest the impending Delhi polls and had sought five seats each. The BJP managed to placate its allies, who had previously contested the 2020 Delhi polls from the Purvanchali-majority seats like Burari, Sangam Vihar, Seemapuri, etc. The saffron party is also willing to field its allies’ nominees as the BJP candidates and is seeking feedback for candidature and seat.
It is, however, the political fight between the AAP and the Congress that is making the Delhi polls all the more intense and interesting.
Expressing gratitude for support, Kejriwal posted on X, “TMC has announced support for AAP in Delhi elections. I am personally grateful to Mamata Didi. Thank you Didi. You have always supported and blessed us in our good and bad times.”
Replying to Kejriwal, TMC’s MP Derek O’Brien said, “We have your back, Aam Aadmi Party”.
In a similar post, the AAP supremo thanked the SP, “Thank you very much Akhilesh Ji. You always support and accompany us. For this I and the people of Delhi are grateful.”
Ever since the campaign for the Delhi elections picked up, the AAP and the Congress have locked horns on multiple occasions and on many issues. The Congress leaders have called AAP convenor “anti-national and corrupt”.
In its bid to counter the AAP’s political doles, the Congress has offered freebies like the Pyari Didi Yojna and Jeevan Raksha Yojna. The AAP has alleged that the Congress is siding with the BJP and threatened to get it evicted from the I.N.D.I.A. bloc.
The Congress’ high command, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Mallikarjun Kharge, till now, have remained absent from the campaign for Delhi. Instead, the Congress campaign has relied heavily on its second-rung leaders and MPs brought in from other states.
After its disastrous electoral performance in Maharashtra, Haryana and failing to open its account in Delhi in the last two Assembly polls, the Congress has been looking for an opportunity to bounce back. However, it is yet to be seen whether the rift growing within the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, will give an edge to the BJP.
Polling for the 70-member Delhi Assembly will take place on February 5 and the counting of votes is scheduled for February 8.