NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) unveiled a new poster on Saturday depicting "dishonest" leaders, featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. However, the inclusion of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi caught the public’s attention. In response, Congress leader Alka Lamba challenged AAP’s chief, urging him to exit the INDIA bloc, stating that it was AAP that sought an alliance with Congress for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
"If Arvind Kejriwal is brave enough, he should declare his departure from the INDIA alliance. The Congress party stands strong with 100 MPs, while it was Arvind Kejriwal who surrendered all 7 seats to the BJP… You (Arvind Kejriwal) had pleaded with us for an alliance during the Lok Sabha polls. Congress made a significant mistake by allying with your party for those 7 seats in Delhi… This led to a serious setback for Congress," remarked Congress candidate from Kalkaji.
The poster has stirred further division within the opposition coalition, heightening tensions between the two parties. Other personalities included in the poster are Sandeep Dikshit, and Ajay Maken, alongside BJP members like Yogi Adityanath, Anurag Thakur, Virendra Sachdeva, Parvesh Verma, and Ramesh Bidhuri, labeled as "dishonest," while AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal is portrayed as "honest." The poster boldly states, "Kejriwal’s integrity will triumph over all dishonest individuals."
Conflict within Congress has put a strain on its relationship with AAP, which has accused the party of aiding the BJP by attacking Arvind Kejriwal. “BJP and AAP are interchangeable; there is no substantial difference between them. We are contesting elections against both AAP and BJP. AAP acts as the BJP’s second faction. There has been coordination between AAP and BJP… Who initiated the Anna Hazare movement? Who provided the inspiration? The RSS was behind it,” asserted Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh.
The internal rifts within the INDIA coalition present a considerable obstacle for Congress in its attempts to regain influence in Delhi, especially as AAP consolidates its support from regional parties such as Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress and Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party.
