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- By Abhishek Sheoran
- Thu, 09 Jan 2025 02:34 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A major chunk of the INDIA bloc has been aligning with the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP as Delhi braces for a crucial battle in the upcoming assembly elections. The Congress, which once acted as the fulcrum of the formidable alliance against the mighty BJP, has been left high and dry to fight alone. Key leaders of the alliance said the grand old had failed to keep the flock together by keeping its ambitions ahead of the joint Opposition.
Mamata Banerjee's TMC on Wednesday announced support for the AAP in Delhi polls. AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal expressed gratitude towards Banerjee, asserting that she had always backed him in good and bad times.
Earlier, Kejriwal thanked Akhilesh Yadav for extending support to AAP, however, the SP chief never spoke openly about this. Besides, Uddhav-led Shiv Sena has also supported the AAP and the two parties were engaging in talks over this. Praising AAP, Sena MLA Aditya Thackeray said no one could deny work done by the former in Delhi. Party’s Rajya Sabha Raut also rebuked Congress for speaking foul language against Kejriwal.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also said it was high time to wind up the alliance as the motive of the INDIA bloc was to defeat the BJP and there was no point in continuing it further since the motives were not met.
Why Congress Facing Snub At Hands Of INDIA Bloc Members
The bone of contention between the Congress and its allies under the coalition was recently concluded assembly polls. The regional parties, which were Congress’ allies at the national level, alleged that the grand old party hadn’t given them proper space to prosper and were concerned only about its proliferation. Moreover, when Congress lost the assembly election in Haryana, despite a big wave led by farmers' protests and Muslim-Jat bonhomie, most of the parties alleged that the grand old party was pompous and confidant and they met such fate for disrespecting allies.
In Maharashtra, the Samajwadi party was left waiting till the last moment and seats were not allocated to them under MVA. Although there was the stake of other parties as well, Akhilesh would anyways attribute the snub to Congress, as the latter had won 17 Lok Sabha seats backed by the SP in UP.
Congress To Move Out Of INDIA Bloc?
With the recent political developments, it seems the grand old party may be compelled to move out of the coalition as consensus has seemed far-fetched, the past few events suggest. Several regional parties believed the Congress, being a national party with a huge presence across India, was a threat to their survival.
The AAP has stated that it will discuss with other INDIA bloc parties to remove the Congress from the alliance after it filed a complaint against Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of "misleading and deceiving" the people with promises of "non-existent" social initiatives.
The grand old party too could think of rebuilding its organisation in the states to avoid alliances and unnecessary negotiations, which anyway hasn’t yielded much, barring a few exceptions.