Congress leader Ajay Maken said on January 18 said that his party should have no alliance with the AAP in Delhi, but left the option open, saying this is his personal view. When asked if Congress would support the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP after the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections, Congress leader Maken responded, "In my personal view, there should be no alliance with AAP. I also believe that Congress should not have supported AAP in 2013, nor should there be an alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. However, this is just my personal opinion," said Maken, the All India 🃏Congress Committee (AICC) treasurer, before declining to comment further.
The 70-member Delhi Assembly is set to go to the polls on February 5. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi will campaign in the New Delhi constituency for party candidate Sandeep🌳 Dikshit on Monday evening. Dikshit is contesting against Arvind Kejriwal, the former Delhi chief minister and AAP national convener. Gandhi had already addressed a public rally in Seelampur, marking his first campaign appearance for the Delhi elections. This signals a shift from Congress’s earlier stance of not actively opposing Kejriwal. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a member of the INDIA opposition🐟 bloc, had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections together with other opposition parties but failed to dislodge the BJP.
Congress is aiming to rebuild its presence in Delhi, where it failed to secure any seats in the last Assembly elections. In the 2013 elections, Congress won eight seats. During his first press conference at the new Co♏ngress headquarters at Kotla Road, Maken, a Delhi native, reaffirme⛄d his earlier comments, calling Kejriwal "anti-national" and arguing that AAP's growth in Delhi only benefits the BJP.
Asked about his "anti-national" remark, Maken said, "I stand by my personal view." He criticized Congress’s previous support for AAP in 2013 and its potential alignment with Kejriwal's party in 2024. "When the people of Delhi suffered, the BJP benefitted. But this is 🌄my personal view," he added.
On the possibility of a future alliance with AAP, Maken stated, "I believe Kejriwal's prominence in Delhi helps the BJP. To effectiv𒆙ely challenge the BJP, a strong Congress is needed at thཧe national level." He emphasized that weakening Congress would not help in the fight against the BJP.
Maken also pointed out the political significance of Delhi, noting that the party that wins the capital’s Lok Sabha seats often forms the government at the Centre. "The AAP has failed to challenge the BJP in Delhi," he asserted. He recalled that both in Harܫyana and Delhi, Congress had been open to an alliance with AAP. However, after his release from jail, Kejriwal declared that AAP would contest all 90 Haryana Assembly seats, despite Congress being in advanced talks for a potential alliance.
As for Delhi, Maken noted that after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Kejriwal announced that AAP would contest the Delhi Assembly elections independen﷽tly. He also recalled that when Congress was in power in Delhi under Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, it won all seven Lok Sabha seats, preventing the BJP from gaining a foothold in the capital and, by extension, the national government.
M꧒aken argued that since AAP took power in Delhi, the BJP has won all seven Lok Sabha seats, making it clear that the party is benefiting politically. "So, who is truly helping the BJP?" he asked.
