JMM welcomes BJP’s victory, says AAP committed political blunder

Ranchi: Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, who maintained distance from both Congress and AAP in the electoral campaign for Delhi, welcomed Saturday's verdict and congratulated BJP. Notably, JMM strategically avoided close associations with AAP and Congress — both partners of the INDIA bloc — after they failed to come on the same page and were spewing venom against each other during the Delhi election campaign.
On Saturday, JMM said AAP committed a political blunder. Supriyo Bhattacharya, the JMM spokesperson, said AAP went to the polls alone, leaving no option for Congress but to contest all seats. "Congress is our ally and a national party. No one should expect that a national party would withdraw from the fray to aid the victory of a regional party," he said.
Sharing Jharkhand's experience, Bhattacharya said they (JMM) accommodated various political parties during the elections to ensure that mutual differences were not exploited by the opposition.
Congratulating BJP, JMM expressed hope that their 1998 promise of according full statehood to Delhi and tackling air pollution would be addressed now. "We are also happy that the indirect rule of the lieutenant governor will come to an end in Delhi as the new BJP chief minister would be allowed to function," Bhattacharya said.
Congress also blamed AAP for not being visionary in forging an alliance. Former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay said they were taking a stand against the politics of polarisation and should have been cautious. "The regional parties forget that Congress still has a huge vote base in all states and expect us to compromise. How far should we compromise? We have already been pushed to the wall but when we are taking on the politics of polarisation, we have to stand united," he said.
Sahay expressed hope that the INDIA bloc partners would sit again to introspect before the Bihar election.
Congress spokesperson Rakesh Sinha said there was a contest between two big liars in the Delhi election and the electorate chose one liar over the other. "We respect the mandate but feel sorry for the people of Delhi who could not bring a positive change," he claimed.