Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal's decision to shun an alliance with the Congress for the upcoming Delhi assembly elections marks a significant turning point in the political landscape of the capital. While the move underscores AAP's confidence in its political dominance, it also highlights the broader challenges faced by opposition forces in forging a united front against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
AAP's rise in Delhi has been nothing short of transformative, systematically dismantling the Congress's long-standing dominance. With two consecutive landslide victories in the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections, the party had cemented itself as the preferred choice for the capital's electorate. By deciding to contest the 2025 assembly polls independently, Mr Kejriwal is signaling his belief in AAP's ability to stand on its own, bolstered by its belief that its brand of governance will carry the day.
This decision also appears to be a calculated response to the Congress's stance in other states, particularly Haryana, where it denied AAP any seat-sharing arrangement in recent elections. Mr Kejriwal's rejection of a tie-up in Delhi is both a demonstration of political reciprocity and a statement of AAP's ambition to remain a dominant player in the INDIA bloc alliance at least as far as the national capital is concerned. For the Congress, this development underscores its existential crisis in Delhi.
This story is from the December 12, 2024 edition of The Statesman.
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This story is from the December 12, 2024 edition of The Statesman.
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