Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The I.N.D.I.A. bloc appears to be unravelling with the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP raising decibel levels against the Congress, offering just a single seat to the grand old party in Delhi after saying that it does not even deserve one. The AAP today announced candidates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls in Gujarat and Goa.
AAP's political manoeuvre, accompanied by assurances of “we are sincerely with I.N.D.I.A.,” and vows to "defeat the BJP," closely follows the announcement by the Trinamool Congress that it will contest alone in West Bengal. Additionally, the exit of the JD(U) and the RLD from the bloc, along with desertions within the Congress, further complicates the political landscape.
The decisions, which also included the announcement of a candidate for Bharuch in Gujarat, a constituency that the Congress views as "emotional" due to late Ahmed Patel's connections, were made at a meeting of the AAP's Political Affairs Committee chaired by party supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal.
AAP announced three candidates for Assam last week with the hope that the bloc would endorse the same.
AAP General Secretary (Organisation) Sandeep Pathak placed the blame on the Congress for the recent developments, asserting that repeated attempts to engage in discussions with the party had failed over the past month. He stated that certain decisions were made with the "sole purpose of defeating the BJP."
"We held two official meetings on seat sharing with the Congress on January 8 and 12. Both meetings took place in a congenial atmosphere, but without any result. Even senior Congress leaders are also clueless as to when the seat-sharing talks will be held," he told a press conference.
While both sides acknowledged the inevitability of competing against each other in Punjab, there were plans for an understanding in Delhi, where the Congress would contest three out of seven seats.
However, Pathak pointed out that according to data, the Congress does not have a legitimate claim to even one seat, as it only has nine councillors and no MPs or MLAs. "But data isn't the sole consideration. It's about respecting the alliance, and our proposal is for the Congress to contest one seat while the AAP contests the remaining six," he explained.
He further expressed hope that discussions regarding Delhi would conclude promptly, adding that if no conclusion is reached, the AAP will proceed to announce candidates for all six seats.
AAP staked its claim for one of the two seats in Goa – South Goa – and announced the candidature of sitting MLA Venzy Viegas, asserting that while the Congress holds three MLAs, AAP holds two and thus they should share the seats.
In Gujarat, Pathak announced the candidature of Chaitar Vasava for Bharuch and Umesh Makwana for Bhavnagar. He stated that AAP has a stake in eight out of 26 seats in Gujarat, given its 13% vote share and five MLAs.
Questioning Congress’ claim on Bharuch, he pointed out that the Congress has not secured victory in the seat since 1984. Dismissing the claim that it is an "emotional seat" due to Patel's previous contesting there, he stated that this argument holds no weight. The Congress is seeking the seat for Patel's daughter Mumtaz, whom the AAP describes as Delhi-based and lacking political clout.
“I want to say with full seriousness that if you want to defeat the BJP today, you will have to come out of nepotism. You will have to focus on who can win which seat and who can defeat the BJP,” he said.
Regarding the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, Pathak said the aim of the bloc was that all the constituents work together in the interest of the country. “The idea was to come together and form a good government for this country by contesting and winning the elections for the alliance without worrying about our individual political interests and keeping the interests of the country in mind,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra was also pointed out as a reason for the delay in holding talks. “We kept waiting. I've interacted with many prominent Congress leaders, and they too have no idea. There is no clarity as to when the next meeting will be held. It is going to be more than a month now,” he said.
“In such a situation, if you aim to win the election, then a question naturally arises in your mind, and you worry that it will be very difficult to win the election this way. This worry is the reason why I am sitting here today, and I am sitting here with a heavy heart. There would have been no need to do this if we had talked,” Pathak added.