Ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, Opposition parties INDIA Bloc's rift widened as Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday announced its support for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). This comes after Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) and Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) too announced to support the AAP in the upcoming assembly polls in Delhi has sparked speculation of a significant rift within the alliance, particularly concerning the Congress party, which is running alone in the Delhi polls and finds itself isolated despite claiming leadership in the alliance.
AAP Supremo and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he is "personally grateful" to TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the support.
Responding to this, Kejriwal thanked the TMC chief. Kejriwal took said TMC extended support to AAP in the assembly polls, adding that he is personally grateful to Mamata. TMC and SP had thrown their weight behind the AAP in the 2020 Delhi assembly elections as well. Earlier on Tuesday, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh had said that Delhi residents will defeat the saffron party in the upcoming assembly elections.
All the four parties - AAP, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and Congress - are partners in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and had jointly fought the Lok Sabha elections last year.
With major INDIA bloc allies supporting AAP, the Congress has found itself cornered in the three-way battle against the AAP and the BJP. The current situation fuels existing speculation about leadership within the INDIA Bloc.
Mamata Banerjee has openly expressed her desire to lead the coalition, a move that has reportedly put pressure on the Congress party, who are seen by many as facing a leadership crisis. The support from both the SP and TMC appears to be a direct challenge to Congress's position.
The support for AAP is particularly noteworthy since it appears to directly undermine Congress's election strategy. Sharad Pawar of the NCP and Lalu Prasad Yadav of the RJD have also publicly backed Banerjee's leadership ambitions, further intensifying pressure on Congress.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav declared his support for the AAP in the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, signaling a significant crack in the opposition's INDIA alliance. Kejriwal extended his gratitude to the former Uttar Pradesh CM.
Talking to reporters in Lucknow, Yadav made it clear that SP will support AAP in Delhi and he would share the stage with them. Yadav further stated that he would not support Congress.
Besides, the Shiv Sena (UBT) is planning to campaign in support of Arvind Kejriwal and AAP in the next few days. Kejriwal is in touch with Uddhav Thackeray.
The 70-member assembly of the national capital will go to polls on February 5 and the counting of votes will take place on February 8. Kejriwal's AAP is seeking a third term in office in the capital, going in for a head-on fight with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress. It dominated the 2020 assembly elections by winning 62 out of 70 seats while the BJP got only eight seats.
Both the AAP and the Congress have been locked in an intense battle, over various issues, for quite some time. Last month, Delhi Congress leader Ajay Maken's remarks that a tie-up with the AAP during the Lok Sabha polls was a "mistake" further worsened relations between the allies. The AAP said it will ask other members of the INDIA bloc to remove the Congress from the alliance, if the latter does not act against Maken for his remarks.
