CM Arvind Kejriwal: Arvind Kejriwal announced on Saturday that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would run for all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab and one in Chandigarh, essentially ending the Opposition’s INDIA alliance in the state.
Gratitude for Past Support
“Two years back, you gave us blessings. You gave 92 out of 117 seats to us (in Assembly elections), you created history in Punjab. I have come to you with folded hands, asking for one more blessing. Lok Sabha elections will be held in two months. For Lok Sabha elections, Punjab has 13 seats and one from Chandigarh – a total of 14 seats. In the next 10-15 days, AAP will declare its candidates in all of these 14 seats. You have to make AAP sweep all these 14 seats with a majority,” he said at an event on Saturday.
Kejriwal’s Announcement in Khanna
While speaking to a crowd in Khanna, Punjab, Arvind Kejriwal made the statement. Bhagwant Mann, the chief minister of Punjab, declared last month that his party would run for all 13 seats in Punjab. Mann criticised the Congress today, claiming that the party was losing support in the state. The comments imply that not much progress has been achieved in the ongoing seat-sharing negotiations between the Congress and the AAP.
The two parties, who have historically been fierce competitors in Chandigarh and Punjab, ran together in the municipal elections last month, suggesting that they may continue their partnership into the Lok Sabha polls. Kejriwal’s statement, however, suggests that the two parties might compete in a quadrilateral election in Punjab against the BJP and SAD.
Poonawalla on INDIA Bloc Disintegration
The INDIA bloc is disintegrating, said tBJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla, in response to the decision.
“One more blow to the INDI alliance…Arvind Kejriwal has announced today that the AAP will contest alone on 13 seats of Punjab and one seat of Chandigarh. It means the INDI Alliance will not contest there, there won’t be an alliance there…The structure of the INDI Alliance is crumbling…No mission, no vision, only commission, only corruption, only confusion, only contradiction. Rahul Gandhi’s Nyay Yatra is strange. It is more of ‘bye bye yatra’ than Nyay Yatra. He should have taken out ‘INDI jodo yatra‘ instead,” he said.
INDIA Group’s New Setback
The embattled INDIA group, which was established last year to challenge the BJP empire in the Lok Sabha polls, has suffered a new setback as a result of Kejriwal’s declaration. Nitish Kumar and Mamata Banerjee, the two principal regional satraps for the Mallikarjun Kharge-led faction, were recently lost.
After splitting from his ally RJD, Kumar teamed up with the BJP, claiming that the Congress was trying to take over as the INDIA bloc’s leader. Banerjee asserted that the Congress turned down her offer and postponed the seat-sharing negotiations. Although Banerjee is still considered the Congress party’s INDIA alliance by Rahul Gandhi, her Trinamool has been undermining the party.
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