New Delhi – In a significant political development, Delhi Minister Gopal Rai announced on Thursday that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will contest the upcoming assembly elections in the capital independently. The decision was made clear after a meeting with AAP MLAs at the Delhi Chief Minister’s House.
Rai emphasized that the INDIA alliance, of which AAP was a part, was formed specifically for the Lok Sabha elections. However, he clarified that no such alliance exists for the Vidhan Sabha (Assembly) elections. The AAP, he said, would contest these elections independently and with full vigor.
The meeting, convened at the residence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, involved senior party leaders and all MLAs. The discussions focused on the defeat in the Lok Sabha elections and the strategy for the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections.
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In the Lok Sabha elections, AAP was part of the opposition’s INDIA alliance and contested against the BJP by forming an alliance with Congress for Delhi’s seven Lok Sabha seats. AAP fielded candidates on four seats, while Congress contested on three. However, the alliance faced defeat on all seats.
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Just three days after the Lok Sabha results, AAP announced its decision to proceed independently. Before his recent imprisonment, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had hinted in a TV interview that the alliance with Congress might not last. He remarked, “We haven’t formed a permanent union with Congress; it’s neither a love marriage nor an arranged marriage.” Kejriwal, the national convenor of AAP, explained that the party joined the alliance to safeguard the Constitution and democracy.