What does Aam Aadmi Party’s exit mean for INDIA bloc?
AAP announced its exit from the alliance a day before the crucial meeting of the opposition parties
AAP announced its exit from the alliance a day before the crucial meeting of the opposition parties
AAP announced its exit from the alliance a day before the crucial meeting of the opposition parties
AAP announced its exit from the alliance a day before the crucial meeting of the opposition parties
As the opposition INDIA bloc is all set to hold a key meeting ahead of the monsoon session of the parliament, the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday officially announced its exit from the grouping.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led party blamed the Congress for its decision and said the party would contest the upcoming Bihar elections on its own.
"The AAP has cleared its stand. The INDIA bloc was for the (2024) Lok Sabha polls. We fought the Delhi and Haryana Assembly polls on our own. We are going to fight the Bihar election solo. We fought the bypolls in Punjab and Gujarat all by ourselves. The AAP is not part of the INDIA (bloc)," Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said.
Singh said the INDIA bloc had failed to stay united and take steps to further its agenda and blamed the Congress for its exit from the grouping.
“The Congress is the biggest party of the bloc. But did it play a role (in ensuring opposition unity)?,” he asked.
The AAP had contested the Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and Haryana during the 2024 general elections in alliance with the Congress. However, they contested separately the 2025 Delhi assembly elections held in February, with the leaders attacking each other during campaigning.
"It is not a child's play. Did they hold any meeting after the Lok Sabha polls? Was there any initiative to expand the INDIA bloc? Sometimes they criticise Akhilesh Yadav, sometimes Uddhav Thackeray and sometimes Mamata Banerjee. The INDIA bloc should have been united,” Singh said.
The INDIA bloc was formed in 2023 to counter the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in the national level.
The Congress, however, sought to downplay the AAP’s exit from the grouping. Party leader Partap Singh Bajwa said Kejriwa’s party exiting the bloc will only strengthen the alliance as it would remove the ambiguity.
“AAP was always playing a double game. Kejriwal has publicly appealed to Congress workers to defect to AAP, exposing his intentions. Rather than fighting BJP, AAP consistently targeted Congress to weaken the larger opposition space,” Bajwa, the leader of the opposition in Punjab, was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.
“With AAP out, INDIA is now free to focus on real, committed partners and present a united, clear alternative to the BJP,” he said.