AAP and Congress: From Broken Promises to Election Day Rivals – A History of Shifting Alliances

Amid ongoing discussions between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress regarding a potential alliance for the October 5 Haryana Assembly elections, AAP’s electoral performance in the state has once again drawn attention.

This time, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is contesting the Haryana elections individually without collaborating with the Congress-led INDI alliance. The dissatisfaction between AAP and Congress has been quite visible, even during the 2024 elections. For example, while the two parties were together in the so-called united opposition alliance, they contested the Lok Sabha elections in Punjab individually. In Delhi, however, they contested the elections jointly.

In Haryana, as the two parties decide to go solo again, speculations are rife whether it is a curtain raiser to the Delhi elections that are due early next year. AAP Delhi MLA and former Minister Somnath Bharti criticized the Congress-led INDI alliance on Sunday (September 8, 2024), asserting that Congress had failed to support AAP candidates during the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi. He argued that most AAP supporters opposed what he described as a “misfit and self-serving” alliance, and urged that AAP should independently contest all seats in Haryana, Punjab, and Delhi. Meanwhile, reports also suggest that the alliance has fallen through in Haryana because of inability to come to a consensus on seat sharing. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party has been demanding 10 seats while the Congress offered just five.

But this Congress and AAP love-hate relationship has been such since the time the latter came into existence.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was formed in 2012 during a time of public dissatisfaction with the political system, especially with Sheila Dikshit’s Congress government in Delhi. The party grew out of the India Against Corruption movement, led by Anna Hazare and strongly supported by Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal claimed that AAP was created to provide an alternative to the existing political parties, focusing on transparency, fighting corruption, and improving governance.

In its early days, AAP strongly criticized Congress, especially Sheila Dikshit’s government, accusing it of corruption and inefficiency. Kejriwal and his party openly promised to never align with Congress, stressing their commitment to clean governance and keeping a distance from established political forces.

After the 2013 Delhi Assembly elections, the situation changed. AAP won 28 seats but did not have enough to form a majority. Despite their earlier promises, AAP teamed up with Congress, which had won 8 seats, to form a government. This alliance was seen as a strategic move by AAP to avoid a political deadlock and advance their reforms.

The Congress-AAP alliance in 2013 was practical for gaining a majority but did not last long. The coalition faced criticism for going back on AAP’s earlier promises, but it was an important moment in AAP’s rise in Delhi politics.

But what happened in just 1.5 months of being united?

After 49 days in collaboration with Congress, Arvind Kejriwal quit as chief minister of Delhi in February 2014. For the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Kejriwal decided to contest from Varanasi against BJP’s Narendra Modi. Interestingly, while Kejriwal came to power on plank of fighting corruption, especially that of Congress, he chose to contest against BJP’s prime ministerial candidate instead of say Amethi or Rae Bareli, where senior Congress leaders such as Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi were contesting. It was clear that Kejriwal only wanted national attention on himself as he was not satisfied being just a chief minister of Delhi.

However, the strategy did not pay off as Kejriwal lost to Modi in Varanasi. The decision to focus on Varanasi instead of traditional strongholds like Raebareli or Amethi was driven by a desire to make a significant impact and gain media coverage, but it ultimately did not translate into electoral success. AAP then contested the subsequent elections in Delhi and got a clear majority, with a huge chunk of Congress votes having shifted to AAP.

Then came the 2019 general elections. After spending five years attacking Congress and its leaders and accusing them of corruption, Kejriwal was again quite keen on getting into an alliance with Congress. He tried a log but talks would always fall through. Eventually, the Congress denied the proposal and contested independently. Out of frustration, Kejriwal became a meme when he informed the media how Congress “Lagbag mana kar diya” with a disheartened face.

The ambivalent relationship between AAP and Congress was seen walking on a better road ahead of 2024 elections. This time, AAP was granted the favour of joining the Congress-led INDI alliance of opposition parties. After all, all opposition parties had the same goal of overthrowing the incumbent Modi government. Even then, AAP and Congress were not in agreement over seat sharing in various states and contested independently in Punjab.

And now, in the 2024 Haryana elections, the parties are contesting independently. AAP and Congress collaboration in 2024 marks a pragmatic attempt to unite against the BJP. However, dissatisfaction from AAP regarding past alliances and strategic differences led to tensions. Despite the renewed partnership, the alliance reflects ongoing challenges and political exercises, with AAP eventually opting to contest independently.