'Due to excise scam': Congress blames AAP for election defeat
The Congress on Sunday said that if it had not contested the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi with its Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) ally, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), it would have won. Congress leader Abhishek Dutt claimed that the AAP's involvement in the excise scam and subsequent arrests of key members, including Arvind Kejriwal, negatively impacted their alliance's performance. Dutt also criticized Delhi Minister Atishi for her protest methods, which he believes contributed to their electoral defeat.
AAP's scandal and protest methods criticized by Congress
"When we exposed the excise scam, we demanded the then government to conduct a proper investigation. ED and CBI didn't take any action, even after 18 months of filing the case. But, just 1 month before the Lok Sabha polls, they arrested Arvind Kejriwal," he claimed. "Satyendar Kumar Jain is in jail because of his involvement in the scam. Manish Sisodia is in jail and because of all of them Congress has suffered the loss," Dutt added.
Delhi Congress chief criticizes AAP over waterlogging issue
On Friday, Congress chief Devender Yadav also took issue with the AAP over the handling of the waterlogging crisis in the city. He stated that every area in Delhi, including railway stations, airports, parks and residential areas, experienced waterlogging. According to Yadav, despite repeated warnings to the government about monsoons, the Delhi government failed to take necessary action leading to a standstill situation in the city.
AAP defends against Congress's accusations
Responding to these allegations, Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that opposition parties in the nation are fighting to save the constitution. The Delhi Health Minister further stated that Congress Party was unable to open its account in the previous two Delhi assembly elections, and that Yadav himself is losing elections. At the same time, Bhardwaj stated that the opposition parties should remain unified in their fight to save the constitution rather than engaging in pointless debates.
Congress and AAP's unsuccessful alliance in Delhi elections
Both parties contested together in all seven seats of Delhi during the 2024 general elections but failed to secure a single seat. The Congress and AAP contested on three and four seats, respectively. However, many Congress leaders in Delhi were unhappy with the fielding of new candidates, such as Kanhaiya Kumar and Udit Raj, whom they consider "outsiders." This decision saw many Congress leaders quit the party, including Arvinder Singh Lovely, former MLAs Neeraj Basoya, and Naseeb Singh.
