INDIA bloc crumbles in Delhi, AAP to go solo in Assembly poll

Samad Hoque

New Delhi, June 6

Just two days after the BJP swept the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi, the Opposition INDIA bloc crumbled in the Capital with the Aam Aadmi Party declaring its decision to go solo in the 2025 Assembly elections. The announcement was made by Delhi minister Gopal Rai.

“The INDIA bloc was formed only for contesting the Lok Sabha polls. Several parties fought elections together and AAP was also a part of it. As of now, there is no alliance for the Delhi Assembly polls,” Rai said.

The decision followed a meeting of party MLAs and senior leaders at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence.

Terming the LS poll result a “mandate against dictatorship”, Rai said the AAP fought the LS elections in the most adverse circumstances with top leaders in jail.

“The victory margin has reduced on all seats…That was the biggest advantage of the INDIA bloc in Delhi. Since the arrest of Kejriwal, the BJP had thought that AAP will be crushed but we have come out of it with full unity. The alliance was for the Lok Sabha elections, we will work with all commitment to win the elections next year,” he said.

On being asked the factors for the loss, he said “The people have continued to vote the way they have been doing in the previous elections. However, AAP’s vote share in the Lok Sabha elections has increased significantly compared to the 2014 and 2019 elections.”

He added that the party would continue to struggle against the arrest of Kejriwal. During the meeting, AAP legislators were instructed to resume development work in their respective constituencies every Saturday and Sunday. Rai noted that development work had halted due to the Model Code of Conduct in place for the Lok Sabha polls.

The AAP has also called for a meeting of Delhi councillors on Saturday (June 8) and a meeting of party workers on June 13.

BJP’s win margin fell on all seats

The victory margin has reduced on all seats… That was the biggest advantage of the INDIA bloc in Delhi. The alliance was for the Lok Sabha elections. — Gopal Rai, cabinet minister