With the exit of Arvinder Singh Lovely as the Delhi Congress chief, questions have now risen about the future of the party’s alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Capital.
The two parties seemingly don’t agree on their agendas or on how to campaign together, at least if one goes by the views expressed by their workers.
Though both parties came together for a mega INDIA bloc rally in the Capital on March 31, Congress workers distanced themselves from the ruling AAP’s Jail Ka Jawab, Vote se campaign that aims at gaining sympathy for Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, who has been arrested in a money laundering case.
In the first roadshow of the AAP supremo’s wife, Sunita Kejriwal, in East Delhi on Saturday, only a handful of Congress supporters were spotted.
Similarly, when Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge hit the ground in North East Delhi on April 3, no AAP supporter was spotted.
Rift between workers
According to sources, the Congress and AAP tie-up had developed chinks since its inception with their workers hesitating to come together for the Lok Sabha poll campaigning due to differences over their agendas and the past years’ acrimonious relationship.
AAP had come to power in the Capital after unseating Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit-led Congress in the 2013 Delhi Assembly poll.
Dhairya Chauhan, a Congress worker, said he can’t forget how the AAP cadre tried to tarnish his party’s image by calling it corrupt and made unwelcome remarks against their leaders.
“We cannot forget the language used by AAP leaders against Ms. Dikshit, who always listened to us,” he said.
A Congress source said the wedge between workers of both parties widened after the arrest of Mr. Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21.
A Congress worker from South Delhi told The Hindu that they had not received any clear instructions about poll campaigning from the party so far.
“How could we start pushing for AAP in the absence of clear instructions from the party leadership,” he said.
Meanwhile, an AAP worker said going with the Congress was difficult from beginning. “How could we seek votes for a party against which we had fought a decade ago and exposed their corruption,” said Suraj Malwal from Chandni Chowk.
‘Lacked cohesion’
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva took a dig at the chaos within the Congress following the resignation of Mr. Lovely from the Delhi party president’s post.
“It’s not about parties coming together but hearts coming together. This was proven when Mr. Lovely quit as the Delhi Congress chief,” the city BJP president said.
