In an interview to WION, Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken has stated that the Aam Aadmi Party is being rejected by the people of Delhi and the Congress should not supply it with political oxygen. He even added that Congress should not get into a political alliance with AAP for 2019 general elections. This comes both as surprising and amusing because just days ago AAP had declared that Congress has sought their alliance.
Aam Aadmi Party was founded on the basis of a promise to challenge the corruption of Congress and its leaders. Arvind Kejriwal gathered media highlights and political posturing from the ‘India against corruption’ movement and launched his own political party. But the people of Delhi soon discovered that AAP was just Congress (or worse) in a new packaging.
Kejriwal had made big claims that he would expose the corruption of Sheila Dixit and provide clean and fair governance to Delhi. Exposing Sheila Dixit was quickly forgotten and instead, Delhi landed in a mess of anarchist, lying and misleading bullies.
Over the years, Congress and AAP have shown a strange pattern in their love-hate relationship. They unite against the BJP, but when the narrative does not suit their respective agendas, they kick each other off. In recent times, it has only got more and more predictable. In the meantime, issues of Delhi remain unsolved. Just like their alliance government that lasted only months, the AAP-Congress relationship, like their politics, is based only on gains and personal agendas.
In the past, AAP and Congress have ganged up whenever there was an opportunity to blame and criticise the central government, be it the imaginary issues of EVM tampering or demonetisation. When one looks at their rhetorics and actions over the years, it becomes increasingly clear that both parties have no respect for ideological values whatsoever. AAP nominated Sushil Gupta, a businessman who was a former Congress leader and vocal Kejriwal critic to the Rajya Sabha. Ajay Maken had expressed his surprise and disappointment over Gupta’s party hopping at that time.
Recently AAP and Congress reportedly had an ‘informal discussion’ about seats about a pre-2019 alliance against BJP. AAP had claimed that senior leaders of Congress have sought AAP’s co-operation in the upcoming general elections in Delhi. Barely a day had passed when AAP hosted its official iftar party in Delhi and not a single Congress leader, was there to be seen. Not a single AAP leader has been invited to the grand iftar being hosted by Rahul Gandhi in the capital’s Taj Palace Hotel later today.
For the last few days, the ever-dramatic AAP has decided to target the Delhi Lieutenant Governor again and blame him and BJP for all their failures. The constant excuse of the LG not letting them work was condemned by former Congress CM Sheila Dikshit too.
Delhi is a Union territory, governed partly by Centre, we have to cooperate and work. In my 15 years in power, we never had any conflict with Centre or LG. This can’t be excuse to not work. Public wants governance not complaints: Sheila Dikshit,former Delhi CM pic.twitter.com/EwO9OrHxmk
— ANI (@ANI) June 10, 2018
The fact that Congress is willing to go to desperate measure to secure power is well demonstrated in the aftermaths of Karnataka elections. Congress, which has 80 assembly seats as of today, handed over the CM’s chair to JDS over a silver platter. The party went into some extraordinary lengths to secure just a fragment of power in Karnataka. The fact that its senior leaders are showing such apprehension over an alliance with AAP only strengthens the speculations that AAP has fallen beyond political salvation.
