INDIA in trouble? How AAP and Congress’ war of words casts shadow on alliance

INDIA – the Opposition’s bloc taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is seeing cracks, casting a shadow on the success of the alliance. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has threatened to walk out of the alliance, ahead of its bloc’s meeting in Mumbai – most likely to be held on 31 August and 1 September.

On Wednesday, the AAP chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said: “If the Congress has decided to contest all the seven seats in Delhi alone, then there is no point in going to the INDIA alliance’s meeting. Our top leadership will decide whether or not to attend the next meeting of the alliance.”

Does this mean it’s the beginning of the end for the INDIA alliance? What caused the AAP to question the alliance? What does this mean for the future?

We give you all the answers.

The statement that caused the trouble

The AAP threatening to withdraw from the INDIA alliance came after Delhi Congress leader Alka Lamba said that the party asked its leaders to prepare for a contest in all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi next year.

Lamba made the comment to the press after Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party MP Rahul Gandhi held a three-hour meeting with their senior colleagues in the nation’s capital. When asked what was discussed during the meet, Lamba told news agency ANI, “We have been told how to prepare for the 2024 election. Before the Delhi meeting, the leadership has met our people in 18 states. It has been decided all Congress leaders will immediately go to work on the seven seats in Delhi to win them. Seven months are left. All party workers have been asked to prepare for all seven seats.”

The AAP, who is the ruling party in Delhi, saw red and Kakkar reacted by stating: “If the Congress has decided that it will not come together for an alliance with us in Delhi, there is no point in attending the INDIA alliance meeting and wasting time. Our leadership will take a final decision on whether we will attend the next meeting.”

AAP minister Saurabh Bharadwaj also reacted to the comment, saying, “Our central leadership will decide this…Our political affairs committee and INDIA parties will sit together and discuss this.”

AAP’s Vinay Mishra was also quoted as telling NDTV, “The Congress leader’s statement is very surprising. After such statements, what is the justification of the INDIA alliance? Arvind Kejriwal ji should decide on what to do next, which is important in the interest of the country. A decision should be taken.”

Also read: INDIA vs NDA in 2024: Why the Opposition alliance changed its name

Damage control

Fearing AAP’s withdrawal from the alliance, Congress quickly resorted to damage control after Lamba’s comment. Deepak Babaria, the AICC in-charge for Delhi and Haryana, stepped in and said that Lamba is not authorised to talk about such sensitive issues.

Babaria added that there was no such discussion in the meeting, and moreover, such matters was the exclusive domain of the leadership.

“What a possible alliance with the AAP, if there is one, will look like, is under the ambit of the high command, which will decide the way forward… There was no discussion regarding it today… We only discussed how to possibly give voice to issues being faced by the average citizen of the city,” he said as per an Indian Express report.

The Congress representative also quipped at the AAP for reacting sharply to Lamba’s statement. “I feel that there are immature people in Aam Aadmi Party. If they want to take such a big decision on the basis of media reports then even God cannot save them,” he was quoted as telling reporters.

Later, Alka Lamba – the woman who started it all – questioned AAP’s reaction, asking what the controversy was all about. “What is the controversy about? Judega Bharat, jeetega India. Listen to my answer to ANI questions. Tell me where did I talk about having or not having an alliance with anyone?”

. @ANI के सवाल और मेरे ज़वाब… सुनिए और बताइए मैंने कहाँ किसी के साथ गठबंधन होने या ना होने की बात कही? विवाद किस बात का है???
जुड़ेगा #Bharat – जीतेगा #INDIA