
NEW DELHI: Maintaining that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal had unilaterally decided to go it alone in the Delhi assembly elections, the Congress on Saturday said that without a ‘strong Congress’ at the national level, it was not possible for the opposition to compete with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“To compete with the BJP, it is necessary to have a strong Congress at the national level. If the Congress is not strong, then the opposition will never be able to compete with the BJP. So, like before, and in the future also, the Congress will have to be strong to take on the BJP. Everyone should understand this,” said Congress treasurer and Rajya Sabha MP Ajay Maken.
His veiled message to the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc assumed significance as the AAP recently threatened to ask its members to expel the Congress over Maken’s ‘anti-national’ remark against Kejriwal. The other partners including the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Trinamool Congress have also thrown their weight behind the ruling party in Delhi.
Maken was speaking at a press conference at the newly inaugurated party headquarters at Kotla Road in Central Delhi. Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh and chairman of the party’s media and publicity department Pawan Khera were also present.
Maken stated that his party was keen on contesting assembly elections in Delhi and Haryana in alliance with the AAP. However, Kejriwal had made a hasty announcement to go solo.
He further alleged that the AAP has been helping the BJP win all seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital. The Congress indicated that Kejriwal’s decision had come as a shocker because seat-sharing discussions for Haryana were still underway.
“I was involved in the discussions on the Haryana elections as the chairman of the screening committee of the Congress. In both Haryana and Delhi, we wanted to have an alliance with the AAP. But as soon as he came out of jail, Kejriwal himself announced that he would contest the elections on 90 seats in Haryana, while talks for an alliance with the AAP were at an advanced stage. As far as Delhi elections are concerned, after the Lok Sabha elections, he was the first one to say that they would contest the Delhi elections alone,” Maken said.
Referring to past election trends in Delhi, Maken said that till the Congress was in power in the national capital, it would also win all the Lok Sabha seats in the capital.
“In Delhi, stopping the BJP means winning the Lok Sabha elections. We used to stop them even at the national level. The party that wins the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi also forms the government at the national level. But since the AAP has come to power in Delhi, on the contrary, the BJP has been winning all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and also forming the government at the Centre. Who is with them?” Maken said.
On his ‘anti-national’ remark against Kejriwal, the Congress MP said that he had expressed his personal views. “It is my personal opinion. I am still firm on it. Supporting them (AAP) in 2014 and later having an alliance in 2024 -- both decisions have harmed the people of Delhi. In turn, the BJP has got benefits. Kejriwal's progress helps the BJP,” said Maken.