The challenges for the Opposition alliance, INDIA, appear to be mounting as elections near with the arrest of Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira in Punjab escalating an AAP vs Congress fight.
Khaira’s arrest in an old drug case has triggered a bitter squabble in Punjab at a time when the Opposition parties of the INDIA alliance are believed to be working out a seat-sharing arrangement for next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
Congress leader Khaira has accused the AAP and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of being “thirsty for blood”. “I will not be surprised if he gets me physically eliminated also,” he declared.
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Meanwhile, the AAP government in the state has claimed “fresh evidence” – in a 2015 case – which has led to Khaira’s arrest. Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh also said, “law is the same for everyone… whichever party member”.
Kejriwal plays down infighting
Even as the two parties are locking horns in Punjab, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo on Friday said that his party is “fully committed to the INDIA” opposition bloc.
Earlier this month also, Kejriwal had played down the talks of infighting and asserted that there was no conflict among the parties of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) alliance.
“This is an alliance not just of 28 parties, but of 140 crore people. I have been noticing that there are forceful projections of infighting which are not there. I have attended all the three meetings of the alliance. I am saying with full responsibility that all meetings have been held in a very cordial atmosphere. There is no conflict,” Arvind Kejriwal had said.
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AAP vs Congress: Trouble in INDIA?
Significant in all this is the fact that while AAP and Congress’ regional leaders see themselves as rivals, the parties are partners on the national stage; both are members of the INDIA bloc bidding to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP in five state polls due this year and the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
Ahead of the election, much of the talk surrounding INDIA has been on seat-sharing and whether the AAP and the Congress can overcome differences to divvy up Punjab’s 13 Lok Sabha seats, because, so far, state leaders have opposed any attempt to divide seats.
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Punjab Minister Anmol Gagan Mann claimed “directions” from the Chief Minister to insist the AAP would contest all 13 seats on its own.
Punjab Congress leaders, including leader of the opposition Partap Singh Bajwa and Pradesh Congress Committee president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, have also repeatedly and unequivocally stated that there would be no alliance with the AAP in Punjab.
Khaira’s arrest is also significant because he is one of those most vocal against any alliance with the AAP in the state. He is also Chairman (at the national level) of the Congress’ Kisan Cell and is therefore both a party office-bearer and lawmaker.
Rift in INDIA bloc beyond Punjab?
The INDIA bloc’s appeal – a non-BJP alternative – is increasingly being seen as a challenge given rifts like this. The CPI-M, for example, has ruled out seat-sharing in Bengal and Kerala.
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Additionally, it has decided not to name any representative for coordination meetings of the anti-BJP front.
Before the Bengaluru INDIA bloc meeting, Sitaram Yechury made it clear that in West Bengal, they think the fight will be against both BJP And Trinamool and in Kerala, there will be a fight between UDF and LDF.
The CPM-Mamata Banerjee rivalry is another complicated relationship that plagues the opposition bloc.
Meanwhile, in Haryana as well, the AAP and Congress seem to have a rift between them as both the parties have announced that they would contest the Haryana Assembly elections 2024 alone.
“For the Assembly polls, there will be no compromise, no tie-up and the AAP will contest all 90 seats on its own. For the Lok Sabha, we will abide by the orders of the party high-command,” AAP’s state unit vice-president Anurag Dhanda had said.
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After AAP’s claims, former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda asserted that the Congress is capable of fighting the 2024 Parliament elections alone in Haryana.
“While the start of the alliance was good, Congress is capable of fighting the 2024 Parliament elections alone in Haryana,” the former Haryana chief minister had said.