AAP-Cong Delhi face-off ahead of polls puts INDIA bloc on edge

The Aam Aadmi Party threatened to push members of the INDIA bloc of opposition parties to expel the Congress from the grouping, if the party did not act against its senior leader Ajay Maken who criticised the Capital's ruling party.

- Paras Singh

The threat was articulated at a press conference held by Delhi chief minister Atishi and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh who lashed out at the Congress, laying bare the deep schism within the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

The Congress hit back, saying the AAP was trying to "salvage its shattered image ahead of the Delhi elections".

The AAP's public statements add to a growing chorus for a shake-up within the 24-member INDIA bloc since the Congress's defeat in the Haryana elections and the assembly polls in Maharashtra, where the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi was relegated to just 50 seats in the 288-seat assembly. Over the last two months, a string of parties -- including the Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, NCP (SP), Shiv Sena (UBT), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and National Conference -- have spoken out about the Congress's leadership position in the bloc.

Matters came to a head on Thursday when Atishi and Singh accused the Congress of colluding with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to "harm the AAP's prospects" in the elections.

"Ajay Maken on Wednesday called Arvind Kejriwal anti-national," said Atishi. "If the Congress does not take action against Ajay Maken in the next 24 hours, we will ask other members of the INDIA bloc to remove the party from the alliance," added Singh, articulating the AAP's sharpest attack yet against the Congress.

The Delhi Congress on Wednesday attacked the BJP and AAP, unveiling a booklet accusing the two parties of mismanagement and unkept promises. "I was never convinced that Kejriwal could be trusted. He will do anything to fulfil his ambitions; he lacks ideology and conviction," Maken had said.

Later that evening, the Delhi Youth Congress filed a police complaint against Kejriwal and the AAP for "misleading voters and for committing fraud".