Double blow to Congress: After Mamata's TMC, AAP announces solo fight in Punjab

In a setback to the INDIA alliance, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday declared that it has decided to go solo in Punjab for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said at a press conference that AAP will win all the 13 seats in Punjab on its own. 

When asked about Mamata Banerjee's decision to go solo in West Bengal, Mann said, "In Punjab, we will not do anything (alliance with the Congress) like that. We have nothing with the Congress."

The Congress and AAP are allies in the Opposition INDIA alliance. Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal approved a proposal by the party's Punjab unit to fight the general elections alone, India Today reported citing sources.

These sources further said that AAP may refuse to contest the election with the Congress in Punjab owing to the alleged stubborn attitude of the grand old party vis-a-vis seat sharing.

The development came hours after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the Trinamool Congress will fight alone in the state. Banerjee attributed her decision to the failed seat-sharing discussions with the Congress party.

"Whatever proposal I gave them, they have refused all," Banerjee said. She added: "Since then, we have decided to go alone in Bengal." The decision was not free of mud slinging as she also criticised the Congress for its "unjustified" demand for 10-12 Lok Sabha seats. Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, on the other hand, said that the grand old party will not "beg" for seats. 

Commenting on the TMC-Congress splitsville in West Bengal, Karnataka BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai said: "INDIA alliance has broken apart. Without leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Nitish Kumar and Akhilesh Kumar, what is the INDIA alliance? This is a big setback for Congress."