Cracks in INDIA bloc? Arvind Kejriwal rubbishes talks of seat sharing in Delhi polls, says...

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said that there is no possibility of an alliance with the Congress in Delhi for the upcoming assembly elections. 

Kejriwal's statement came amid reports suggesting that the Congress and AAP are in final stages of agreement for an alliance in the Delhi assembly elections.

"Aam Aadmi Party will be fighting this election on its own strength in Delhi. There is no possibility of any alliance with Congress," Kejriwal said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). 

The reports mentioned that around 15 seats have been earmarked for the Congress party and 1-2 seats have been left for other members of the INDIA alliance. It mentioned that the AAP will fight on the remaining seats. 

The AAP has already released the first two lists of its candidates for the Delhi assembly polls. Some of the notable candidates are Manish Sisodia from Jangpura, Avadh Ojha from Patparganj, Padmashri Jitender Singh Shunty from Shahdara, and Rakhi Bidlan from Mandipur. 

The development is especially concerning for the Congress party as it comes on the back of Mamata Banerjee's leadership pitch for the INDIA bloc gaining further support. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav lent his support to Banerjee's pitch if others failed to do so. 

He also said that the Congress' opposition to Mamata Banerjee's pitch doesn't hold water. "It’s fine, she should be given the responsibility. We are in agreement," the former Bihar Chief Minister told the reporters. 

Not only Yadav, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar also backed Banerjee for leading the opposition alliance, saying she is a capable leader and that she has the right to say it. "The MPs she has sent to Parliament are hardworking and aware."

The momentum that the Congress gained by winning 99 seats in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 was undercut by the electoral setbacks in Haryana and Maharashtra as well as underwhelming performance in Jammu & Kashmir.