Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has decided to go solo in the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, announcing no alliance with Congress. Gopal Rai, Delhi's Environment Minister and AAP leader, emphasised that while the two parties collaborated for the Lok Sabha polls under the INDIA bloc, the assembly elections will witness AAP's independent participation.
Rai clarified that the alliance between AAP and Congress was specific to the Lok Sabha elections and doesn't extend to the Vidhan Sabha polls. Despite their collaboration in the national capital for the parliamentary elections, both parties faced a setback, with BJP securing victory in all seven Lok Sabha constituencies.
In the aftermath of the Lok Sabha polls, Rai reiterated that the INDIA alliance was solely for parliamentary elections. As Delhi gears up for assembly elections, AAP stands firm on its decision to contest independently, vowing to fight with full vigour alongside the people of Delhi.
While AAP and Congress are part of the larger INDIA bloc, their collaboration was limited to the Lok Sabha polls, extending to Delhi, Punjab, and Gujarat. However, there was no partnership between the two parties in Punjab, where Congress emerged victorious in seven seats compared to AAP's three.
With assembly polls in Delhi anticipated for early 2025, AAP's decision marks a strategic shift, especially considering Congress' failure to secure any seats in the 2020 Delhi assembly elections.
AAP dominated the previous assembly polls with a landslide victory, clinching 62 out of 70 seats, while BJP secured the remaining eight seats.
AAP's announcement comes amidst ongoing discussions among the newly elected Lok Sabha MPs within the INDIA bloc for enhanced coordination to counter the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government.