Ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal took a jibe at the BJP, suggesting a ‘jugalbandi’ (partnership) between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress. Kejriwal’s remarks came after BJP leader Amit Malviya reacted to his comment about “saving to fight Congress,” which was made in response to Rahul Gandhi’s recent speech where he criticized Kejriwal for not fulfilling his promises.
Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi’s war of words intensified on Monday, with the AAP chief asserting that Gandhi’s fight was about saving the Congress party, while his own was about saving the country. Rahul Gandhi had earlier attacked Kejriwal, questioning his inability to control inflation in Delhi and his stance on the caste census.
In his X (formerly Twitter) post, Kejriwal fired back, stating, “Today, Rahul Gandhi came to Delhi and criticized me extensively. But I won’t comment on his statements. His fight is to save Congress, mine is to save the country.”
This statement led to a sharp response from BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya, who suggested that Kejriwal should focus on retaining his seat in Delhi before worrying about the country. Kejriwal quickly responded, pointing out how the BJP reacted so strongly to a single comment about Rahul Gandhi. He claimed that this Delhi election could expose the longstanding ‘jugalbandi’ between Congress and BJP that has been operating behind the scenes for years.
The Delhi elections are shaping up to be a three-way contest, with AAP aiming to retain power for a third consecutive term, while both BJP and Congress seek to unseat the party. The 70-member Delhi Assembly will go to the polls on February 5, with results to be announced on February 8.
At a rally in Delhi’s Seelampur, Rahul Gandhi had also slammed the BJP over issues such as inflation and growing inequality. He criticized the wealth of industrialists like Ambani and Adani and questioned why neither PM Modi nor Kejriwal ever spoke about Adani. Gandhi stated, “We don’t want a country of billionaires.”
He further promised that a victorious Congress would focus on the development of the backward communities, asserting, “Make Congress victorious, and we will ensure development as we did in the past. Neither Kejriwal nor BJP can do what we can.”
In the previous Delhi Assembly elections of 2015 and 2020, the Aam Aadmi Party delivered significant victories, securing 67 and 62 seats respectively. Kejriwal’s AAP had also been instrumental in ousting Congress from power in Delhi in 2013.
