New Delhi
The I.N.D.I.A bloc of Opposition parties will face a litmus test in the five states that are going for elections next month. The Aam Aadmi Party, an I.N.D.I.A constituent, has announced plans to contest in three of these states, thus bursting the balloon of a united Opposition challenging the BJP, as seen in the recently concluded Ghosi byelection in Uttar Pradesh, where Congress and RLD supported the SP candidate. The announcement by AAP shows not everything is all right in the alliance and also raises questions about whether the alliance will survive until the Lok Sabha elections next year.
Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener, Arvind Kejriwal, said that AAP was ready to contest the upcoming Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan with full strength, and that it “would soon declare the names of candidates”. The AAP national convener also said that “whatever happens will be appraised” on whether his party would run in the elections as a member of the I.N.D.I.A group. However, the Congress, a member of the I.N.D.I.A coalition, like the AAP, currently has power in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.
According to Sandeep Pathak, national general secretary of the AAP, “The I.N.D.I.A coalition has been formed for the Lok Sabha polls and not for Assembly elections.” He went on to say that other parties have been given a chance, and now Hindi-belt people want to let the Aam Aadmi Party take office. “The party is ready for the election, and we will run a thorough campaign.” He continued, “If we win, we’ll provide free electricity, good education, better healthcare facilities, and good governance.”
However the BJP is sceptical about AAP’s plans. Delhi BJP general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa said: “AAP will never contest the election in Madhya Pradesh; they are just creating ground there, and they will soon say that they’ll not contest the election; instead they will provide unconditional support to the Congress.” He further said: “Arvind Kejriwal is well aware of the fact that his party has no vote share in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan. The only purpose of Kejriwal’s statement is that they want to create ground for the Congress, and later, he will say that the AAP will support the Congress to fight against the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
Om Prakash Sharma, a BJP MLA, said, “It’s their internal matter that they will contest the election against their alliance (the I.N.D.I.A bloc) in MP, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan. Everyone in the country knows that this alliance will not work, and Arvind Kejriwal is proving that. He further said whether AAP contests or not will not affect the result. The BJP will win the election as they are working round the clock on the ground.”
In the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, AAP contested 208 seats but couldn’t open its account. With 114 members, the Congress was declared the single-largest party. 109 seats went to the BJP. Following the widespread resignation of the state’s ruling MLAs, the BJP later established a government in the state. In contrast, the Congress took power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh in 2018 after beating the BJP in a direct election and winning a majority of the seats.
However, the Election Commission has announced that assembly polls will be held in five states—Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana in the next two months, and the election will be held on different days, respectively. The votes will be counted on 3 December.