'We will raise our voices': Resurgent Congress eyes Delhi Assembly polls as cornered AAP gets bogged down with legal troubles

The Congress is aggressively eying to make a comeback in Delhi, especially now with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party being besotted with legal troubles.

The Congress failed to secure even a single seat in the Delhi Assembly elections of 2015 and 2020.

This opportunity comes amid the ongoing troubles of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), whose leadership is embroiled in the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been behind bars for several months due to the case, with his close associate Manish Sisodia also imprisoned. The Congress sees this as a golden opportunity to regain its footing in Delhi.

To prepare for the upcoming Assembly polls, the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) is planning to organize protests against the AAP government. 

"We will raise our voices on matters of public interest and welfare. The flooding during the monsoon season and the lack of desilting of drains in Delhi are issues that need to be addressed. We want to act as a worthy opposition," said Anil Bharadwaj, chairman of the DPCC’s communication department, as reported by the Indian Express.

Following the parliamentary polls, the DPCC has criticized the AAP on various fronts, including the ongoing water crisis in the national capital. As part of the strategy, several Delhi Congress leaders have publicly accused Kejriwal of corruption and have regularly targeted AAP ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj.

However, at the municipal level, the Congress intends to continue supporting the AAP. In the long-pending election for the Delhi mayor’s post, Congress councillors plan to back the AAP nominee to prevent a BJP victory, according to a party leader, reported the newspaper. 

As part of its poll preparations, the DPCC has begun holding meetings in every Assembly constituency to mobilize party workers. Several district conventions have already taken place, with more still planned. The focus is on Assembly segments within Lok Sabha seats contested by the AAP to strengthen the workforce for the upcoming elections. In South Delhi, where the AAP had candidates, a convention was held in Mehrauli, and another is scheduled for Badarpur on July 14, the newspaper reported.

Yadav, who assumed leadership of the Delhi Congress after former DPCC chief Arvinder Lovely defected to the BJP just before the Lok Sabha polls, recently held a meeting with party district presidents and district observers.

At these meetings, the DPCC has been devising strategies to challenge both the AAP and the BJP. The Congress believes now is the time to aggressively oppose both parties.

During a DPCC executive committee meeting on June 28, Devender had pointed out that the AAP government was a mess in the city and that in the past 10 years there was nothing but neglect of civic affairs, Express reported. 

The decline of the Congress facilitated the rise of the AAP in Delhi, as the grand old party’s vote base shifted en masse to the latter following its ouster from power in 2013.