Will Congress-AAP contest assembly polls together? Jairam Ramesh responds
What's the story
The Congress on Thursday dismissed the possibility of an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the upcoming assembly elections in Delhi and Haryana.
Speaking to news agency PTI, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "In Haryana...I don't think that INDIA [Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance] will be there for assembly polls. In Delhi, the AAP itself has said that INDIA janbandhan will not be there for assembly polls."
Context
Why does this story matter?
The Congress and the AAP contested the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi and Haryana together under the INDIA bloc.
In Delhi, the AAP contested four constituencies and the Congress three, but the bloc didn't secure any seats and the Bharatiya Janata Party swept the national capital.
In Haryana, the Congress contested nine seats, and the AAP one.
The Congress gained five seats compared to 2019, while the AAP's Sushil Gupta narrowly lost the Kurukshetra seat to the BJP's Naveen Jindal.
Information
Assembly polls in 3 states this year
Haryana, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra are set to hold elections later this year, while assembly elections in Delhi are scheduled for early 2025. Currently, the BJP governs Jharkhand, while the AAP holds power in the national capital.
AAP's stand
Gopal Rai's statement on AAP-Congress alliance
Last month, Delhi Minister and AAP leader Gopal Rai clarified that the party's alliance with the Congress was solely for the Lok Sabha elections.
"The INDIA bloc was only for contesting the Lok Sabha polls. Several parties fought elections together and AAP was also a part of it. As of now, there is no alliance for the Delhi Assembly polls," he had told PTI.
Statement
Congress leader blames AAP for INDIA's poor showing in Delhi
To recall, a few days ago, a Congress leader attributed the alliance's poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections in the capital to the AAP.
"If we hadn't contested the elections with them...Congress's seats would have increased...Because of...excise scam, the Congress suffered a loss," Congress leader Abhishek Dutt told news agency ANI.
Notably, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia are in custody in the money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy.