In a first, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal shared the stage while addressing a rally of protesting farmers here on Friday.
Mr. Kejriwal became the Chief Minister in 2013, ending the 15-year rule of the Congress in Delhi.
Mr. Kejriwal walked onto the stage at Jantar Mantar as Mr. Gandhi was delivering his speech. Mr. Kejriwal then addressed the gathering as Mr. Gandhi sat down.
AAP sources said that till now the Congress leader had opted to leave the stage at public events upon Mr. Kejriwal’s arrival.
AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, however, said that the two leaders sharing the stage, and smiles, was not an indication of a thaw in relations.
‘No other meaning’
“There is no other meaning behind sharing the stage. The farmers’ issues in the country led to it, nothing else,” Mr. Singh said.
For the Lok Sabha elections next year, some leaders of the AAP and the Congress have been in talks about a potential alliance as part of a national-level united opposition strategy, senior AAP sources have said.
However, sources added that there is a lack of consensus within the Aam Aadmi Party over the issue.
Since the AAP’s formation in 2012, arising out of the India Against Corruption movement that targeted the then-UPA government, Mr. Kejriwal had been critical of the Congress.
However, his stance on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saw a change this year.
On October 23, 2013, Mr. Kejriwal tweeted: “A corrupt Congress made Manmohan Singh its face at Centre. Manmohan failed to check corruption within congress and his own Govt. [sic.].”
On May 31, 2018, however, Mr. Kejriwal tweeted: “People missing an educated PM like Dr Manmohan Singh.”
