🐻The relationship between Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), allies within the opposition INDIA alliance, has taken a sharp turn following a war of words between two senior leaders. In the latest salvo, Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, former Chief Minister of Rajasthan, criticised the AAP as its “opponent” in Delhi, fueling tensions ahead of the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Gehlot dismissed the AAP’s chances in Delhi, where the party has enjoyed dominance in recent elections. “They (the AAP) are our opposition. They are harbouring a misconception since they won twice (in Delhi)... the voters’ mood seems to have changed now. The Congress 🏅is campaigning well, and we may see good results this time,” Gehlot said.
ALSO READ| Delhi Polls 2025: BJP ꦬTo Find New Kalkaji Candidate? Unease In Party After Bidhuri's Sexist Remarks
⛄His remarks quickly provoked a response from AAP leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who accused Gehlot of revealing a “secret cooperation” between Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Delhi elections. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kejriwal fired back, suggesting that Gehlot’s comments had exposed the Congress-BJP alliance that he claimed had been operating covertly.
൩“Gehlot ji, you made it clear that the Congress sees the AAP as the opposition in Delhi. You remained silent on the BJP. People also felt that the AAP is the opposition for the Congress, and the BJP is its partner,” Kejriwal wrote. “Today, you have made it public. Thank you, on behalf of the people of Delhi, for this clarification.”
🔯This bitter exchange follows a string of recent tensions between the two parties, particularly after the AAP demanded an apology from Congress leader Ajay Maken. The AAP accused Maken of calling Kejriwal “anti-national,” and suggested that Congress was covertly aiding the BJP in its bid to unseat the AAP in Delhi.
TMC and Samajwadi Party support AAP
The public spat comes at a time when AAP has received backing from key INDIA bloc allies. On Wednesday, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by Mamata Banerjee, expressed its support for AAP in the Delhi Assembly elections, a move quickly followed by the Samajwadi Party, whose chief Akhilesh Yadav ꧑had reportedly pledged support a day earlier. Both parties had backed AAP in the 2020 Delhi elections as well.
ꦗAAP leaders were quick to thank their allies. Arvind Kejriwal expressed personal gratitude to Mamata Banerjee, tweeting, “TMC has announced support to AAP in Delhi elections. I am personally grateful to Mamta Didi. Thank you Didi. U have always supported and blessed us in our good and bad times.”
ওSenior TMC leader Derek O’Brien swiftly responded, offering the party’s continued backing to AAP: “We have your back Aam Aadmi Party.”
ꦓKejriwal had also thanked Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav earlier this week, praising his unwavering support for AAP and its campaign in the national capital.
The upcoming Delhi Assembly elections𝔉, scheduled for February 5, 2025.The counting of votes will take place on February 8.
