Arvind Kejriwal says AAP to contest Delhi election alone, rejects ‘alliance possibility with Congress’
Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday reiterated that the Aam Aadmi Party will contest the upcoming Delhi assembly election alone, and “there is no possibility of any alliance with the Congress”.
“Aam aadmi party will be fighting this election on its own strength in Delhi. There is no possibility of any alliance with congress,” Arvind Kejriwal posted on X amid reports that his party was in talks with other partners of the Opposition’s INDIA bloc for seat sharing ahead of the Delhi poll.
This isn’t the first time the AAP leader has dismissed the possibility of a coalition in Delhi. Earlier this month, Arvind Kejriwal made it clear that the party has no plans to form alliances for the Delhi assembly election, as it aims for a third consecutive term.
The statement comes after reports suggested that the Congress and AAP were in the final stages of talks for a Delhi election alliance.
The AAP has released its second list of 20 candidates for the Delhi election on Monday that included the decision to field Manish Sisodia from the Jangpura constituency instead of his previous seat in Patparganj. Educator Awadh Ojha has been nominated to contest from Patparganj.
In its second list of candidates, the Aam Aadmi Party has dropped 17 sitting MLAs, opting to replace them with new faces.
However, three familiar names have been re-nominated: Manish Sisodia and Rakhi Birla, both current MLAs, along with Deepu Chaudhary, a former candidate who lost in the previous election.
The Congress, which was in power in Delhi for 15 successive years, has performed poorly in the past two assembly poll, failing to win any seat.
The assembly poll in Delhi are expected to be held in early 2025. The AAP won 62 out of the 70 seats in the 2020 assembly poll, the Bharatiya Janata Party secured eighth seats.
Earlier on December 7, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Devendra Yadav had criticised the AAP and Arvind Kejriwal for being responsible for the “deteriorating” law and order situation in the national capital.
Devendra Yadav also demanded that Kejriwal should ask for the resignation of Delhi chief minister Atishi, the same way he asked for the resignation of former CM Shiela Dixit during the Nirbhaya case. The Delhi Congress president further alleged that the women are facing the brunt of increasing crimes, including gang wars, firing, murder, rape, harassment and snatching incidents.
