Page 37 - 31JAN2018E

politics

which turns 20 this year, argued that the idea of the alliance first. Kejriwal! When the people of Delhi are
since it had won more seats in 2014, the Though Punjab Chief Minister, Capt continuously rejecting Kejriwal Govt,
two allies should contest an equal num- Amarinder Singh ruled out the possibil- why should we come to their rescue?
ber of seats if they were to ally again. ity of an alliance with AAP as Congress After all, Kejriwal with team Anna
was going strong in Punjab, the specu- supported by RSS, helped in creating
Congress-AAP alliance lation is still rife that Congress high this monster of Modi!’ Ashutosh further
It’s not only that BJP and Congress have command may eventually prevail upon writes that the alliance could help AAP-
shown eagerness to forge alliances but Punjab CM in “larger interests of the Congress combine win all the seven
the Aam Aadmi Party is also equally party”. Significantly, Capt Amarinder seats in Delhi, whereas failure to join
keen to look for partners. Tehelka had Singh had met party President, Rahul forces will split votes that are common
done a story sometime back that the Gandhi in Delhi on January 7, 2019. to both parties — Muslims, Dalits, jhuggi
Aam Aadmi Party and Congress are dwellers — allowing BJP to win all the
likely to fight the upcoming Lok Sabha Maken’s exit seats again. He adds that once the deal
polls in Delhi and maybe even in Pun- Coming to Congress — AAP alliance, is inked in Delhi, it will also pave way
jab, together, former journalist-turned- Ashutosh added that ‘The truth is that for a similar alliance in the 13 seats of
AAP leader-turned-journalist-again Kejriwal decides what happens in AAP. Punjab, ruled by Congress with AAP as
Ashutosh has written for a news portal And Kejriwal wants an alliance with the main opposition.
he co-founded. In a piece that Ashutosh Congress. He has been pushing for it With this, the AAP-Congress com-
wrote for satyahindi.com, published on for the past year. Some other parties bine will be able to mount a huge chal-
January 1, he says that between AAP and lenge to BJP in 20 seats in the two states
Congress, it was Kejriwal who proposed where both the parties received a drub-
While Bihar saw bing by BJP in ’14 LS polls. The possibility
known NDA allies of similar understanding in Haryana
joining hands, in is also not ruled out. Ashutosh has also
argued that the alliance may be a bitter
Maharashtra, the pill for the state Congress leadership,
who fear that their leaders may end up
Congress and the joining AAP or turning renegades.
Nationalist being together, if only in the short-lived
Both parties have an experience of
Congress Party 49-day government, and this will help
have decided to sew them walk together again, he says.
their alliance back Congress may go alone in UP
Though Congress MPs came in support
of Samajwadi Party leader and former
have also worked as communica- CM, Akhilesh Yadav when CBI hinted at
tion channels for AAP and Congress.” probing his role in illegal mining, call-
He adds that a big impediment to this ing the move as “witch hunting”, indi-
alliance was Congress’ Delhi unit. It is in cations are that Congress may have to
this light that another piece published go it alone in the most populated state
on Friday in the same portal analyses of country. In Uttar Pradesh, which has
Delhi Congress chief — Ajay Maken’s the most number of Lok Sabha seats in
resignation. the country, the Congress might have
“Congress’ Delhi unit kept telling the to fly solo. Political rivals-turned-allies
party high command that it shouldn’t Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav
get into an alliance with AAP that is and Bahujan Samaj party boss Maya-
continually becoming unpopular in the wati had a meeting in Delhi where they
capital.” discussed the seat-sharing in UP for the
Rumours of a pre-LS poll alliance national elections. Sources said that
as an offer from AAP to Congress had the Congress didn’t feature in their for-
started doing rounds sometime last mula. The two leaders, reportedly upset
year. Maken had tweeted in June last with the Congress, don’t seem too keen
year — ‘On “so-called” offer of AAP to on allying with the Congress in UP.
Congress for 3 seats, look at my reply to P.L.Punia, MP and senior member