The Delhi Unit of Congress pressed itself into a damage control exercise after party leader Alka Lamba ‘s remarks about the Congress contesting all the seven Lok Sabha (Lower Housse of the Parliament) in the city caused a furore. The remark did not go down well with the Aam Aadmi Party, which is an ally of the Congress In the Opposition’s INDIA bloc.
The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) holds all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. The Congress and AAP are part of the opposition’s INDIA grouping, although no seat arrangements have been discussed yet.
The Meeting
Keeping a close eye on elections which will be held in 2024, the Delhi Congress Leaders held a meeting with the top party leadership on August 16, 2023, to review its Delhi Unit preparedness for the poll.
After the meeting, Alka Lamba (Congress Leader) said that “in the three-hour long meeting, Rahul Gandhi, Kharge ji Venugopal and Deepak Babaria ji were present in the meeting. We have been asked to prepare for the Lok Sabha Elections It has been decided that we will prepare to contest all seven seats.
Comments from other Congress Leaders
AAP leader Priyanka Kakkar said, “If Congress has decided not to form an alliance with us, then there is no use for us to attend the next INDIA alliance meeting. Our top leadership will decide whether or not we will attend the next meeting.
Meanwhile, AAP minister Saurabh Bharadwaj also spoke of about the Congress decision that it was likely to go solo in the Delhi Election Polls in 2024. He said, “Our central leadership will decide this, and our political affairs committee and the INDIA parties will sit together and discuss this poll alliance.”
The Delhi Congress in-charge, Deepak Babaria, said, “Alka Lamba is a spokesperson, but she is not authorised to talk on such important issues. I have said that as an in charge, there were no such discussions in the meeting today. I refute Alka Lamba’s statement.”
After the meeting, Babaria lashed out at the AAP. “Delhi has become directionless, and no progress has been made from the point where Shela Dikshit (former CM of Delhi) left. The Delhi Congress will oppose the anti-people policies of the AAP government. It was also decided that the anti-people policies of the AAP would be flagged before the people, and the Congress Party would move ahead.
Babaria also quipped the AAP for reacting sharply to Lamba’s statement. I feel that there are immature people in the AA. If they want to take such big decisions on the basis of media reports, then even God cannot save them.
The Alliance
Both the Congress and the AAP are part of an alliance of 26 opposition parties, INDIA (Indian National Development Alliance). The opposition alliance was formed ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls to take on the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Clash over Delhi Services
The Congress and AAP had previously been at loggerheads over the Centre’s ordinance on Delhi Services. Prior to the bill tabled in the parliament, the AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal had sought the support of the non-BJP parties in defeating the bill in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress had refrained from making its stand clear for days, leading to Kejriwal’s party threatening to boycott the opposition meeting in Bengaluru.
Just before the Bengaluru Meeting of the opposition parties, the Congress party announced its decision to support the Aam Admi Party in its fight against the ordinance brought by the Centre on the control over services.
