AAP says it will fight Delhi assembly elections on its own, no alliance with Congress

NEW DELHI: Amid speculation whether the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress, both INDIA bloc partners, will fight the Delhi assembly election together, senior AAP leader and Delhi minister Gopal Rai on Thursday said the party will go solo. Rai said that the alliance with the Congress was formed for the Lok Sabha elections only.

"This is clear from the very first day that the INDIA alliance was formed for the Lok Sabha elections. As far as the Vidhan Sabha is concerned, no alliance has been formed. Aam Aadmi Party will fight elections with its full strength," Rai said after a meeting of party MLAs at CM Arvind Kejriwal’s residence.

The AAP has registered landslide victories in two consecutive assembly elections. Yet, the party has drawn a blank in three successive Lok Sabha elections in 2014, 2019 and 2024.

In 2024, for the first time, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Indian National Congress had formed a pre-poll alliance aimed at preventing a split in anti-BJP votes. The AAP had entered into a seat-sharing agreement of 4:3 with its staunch rival Congress. Despite this, the party failed to reverse its fortunes. Ultimately the saffron party continued to prove its dominance in the national capital.

Now, with CM Kejriwal behind bars, and other senior leaders also under pressure, the party’s future seems in trouble. As Delhi goes back to the polls in January 2025, the party has some serious introspection to do before it can hit the campaign trail. According to poll pundits, the party also needs a new generation of leaders who can better communicate their message to the public.

Earlier, there was speculation that the meeting will decide upon a possible change in guard in the national capital since CM Kejriwal is in jail, but that did not happen.