The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has strategically made the Assembly poll in Haryana intriguing. On nearly two dozen seats, the AAP has introduced a triangular contest, causing restlessness among the Congress candidates on these seats and their party leadership.
The Congress party leadership is apologetic for not allying with the AAP. Even though AAP was interested in having an alliance with the Congress party. Virtually the Congress party took the AAP factor lightly as Haryana is near Himachal Pradesh. In the HP Assembly election 2022, the AAP did not affect the electoral outcome, and the Congress party won. However, the Congress party took the lead on less than 38000 votes in Himachal Pradesh than, its main rival, the then-ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Such favourable conditions for the AAP emerged only after rigorous campaigning of its party supremo, Arvind Kejriwal. Arvind Kejriwal has taken charge in Haryana after coming out on bail from the Supreme Court in the liquor scam, which has generated goodwill and enthusiasm among the AAP workers. Kejriwal is playing the role of the son of the soil factor in Haryana. Besides, he is also demonstrating his resignation as his dedication to the masses. He also shows his commitment to women empowerment by anointing Atishi Marlen as his successor Chief Minister of NCT of Delhi. Before AAP supremo Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita Kejriwal, had prepared the political pitch for him on which Mr Kejriwal is now campaigning.
The AAP and Kejriwal knew well that the Congress party would consider seat adjustment or power-sharing only in case it caused the party political damage. In Gujarat, in the 2022 Assembly poll, the AAP gave a significant political blow to the Congress party, and then in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the Congress party shared two Lok Sabha seats with the AAP. The AAP wants to repeat the Gujarat experiment in Haryana, and in the coming days, the AAP may repeat the experiment in other States, too. The Congress party did not learn lessons from its Gujarat fiasco and ignored alliance proposals from the AAP in Haryana.
The AAP is dividing anti-incumbency votes on nearly all its contesting seats in Haryana Assembly election. Still, on some specific seats, the AAP is in the primary contest and will change the apple cart for these seats. These seats are Dabwali, Ballabhgarh, Sohna, Assandh, Dadri, Pundri , Meham, Jagadhri, Kalayat , Bhiwani, Rania, Dabwali, Ratia (SC).
The AAP made the election interesting in the Nuh district. The Congress was confident of the three seats in Nuh district. However, the AAP also brought jitter to the Congress party in these seats. Nuh district is Muslim dominated and the Congress party was confident that due to weakening and division within the Indian National Lok Dal and after formation of Jannayak Janata Party the Congress party would easily win the seats, and the tally of the Congress party would start from three seats. Still, the AAP was likely to deny the Congress party plan.
From Muslim-dominated Nuh, the AAP has fielded the first woman candidate from the area, Rabia Kidwai. Rabia Kidwai is the granddaughter of former governor Akhlaq, your Rehman Kidwai.
