In AAP’s Delhi loss, Cong sees chance to grab power in state

The Aam Aadmi Party’s defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections has revived hopes of a comeback in the Punjab Congress, with its leaders predicting a revolt within the ruling party due to a “conflict” between Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his party chief Arvind Kejriwal.

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According to Congress leaders, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been regularly eating into their vote base, right from the 2022 state Assembly poll, when AAP stormed into power by winning 92 of 117 seats.

The Congress tally was reduced to just 18 seats amid continuous bickering within the party, which eventually led to several of its senior party leaders losing the elections.

Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Raja Warring said the state party unit would aggressively target the AAP’s “failed Punjab model”, which was “based on the Delhi model rejected by voters”. He said in the coming days, AAP is set to face “defections” in its ranks.

Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa said the Delhi poll results had come as a “blessing in disguise for the Congress”.

“We will be in a position to get better results (in the 2027 Assembly poll) as AAP will weaken in Punjab. It was for this reason that we had been opposing a tie-up with AAP,” he said apparently referring to the General Election last year when AAP and the Congress went solo in the state while both had a tie-up in Delhi as part of the Opposition’s INDIA bloc.

He said a “revolt” in the state AAP unit would be triggered “due to direct conflict between party national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann”.

“To adjust a huge army of close confidants and the requirement of sufficient funds to contest different cases registered by central agencies against Kejriwal and others, the AAP chief will try to become Punjab CM,” claimed Bajwa.

Bajwa claimed that the situation could lead to a “split” in the party as the AAP leadership could “try to get rid of Mann to adjust Kejriwal” after his loss in the Delhi poll. He said Mann had also been “cosying up” to the central BJP leadershipp.

Meanwhile, speculations are rife in political circles that Kejriwal could be nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab by replacing one of AAP members from here.

Another senior Congress leader said the BJP too carefully assessing political developments. “There is already a pressure group of 21 MLAs in AAP that had been lobbying against the CM, with support from the AAP central leadership. But getting two-thirds majority on the floor of the House would be a daunting task for any party trying to dethrone a CM,” said the leader.

Former Vidhan Sabha Speaker and Congress’ Hindu face Rana KP Singh said the Delhi poll results could be replicated in Punjab too. “The Delhi poll results will have a direct bearing on Punjab with the Congress set to gain from it,” he said.