Kejriwal calls Congress ‘vote cutter’

In his first such attack on his INDIA bloc ally Congress at a public meeting, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday called the party a ‘vote cutter’ and urged voters not to ‘waste’ their votes on them while claiming that party is indirectly aiding BJP ahead of the upcoming Delhi assembly elections.

Addressing a ‘janasabha' in the Badli constituency, Kejriwal said, “Why waste your votes on the Congress? The Congress will not win; it will just cut our votes. The Congress and the BJP are fighting this election together to defeat the AAP. Vote to make someone win, not to make someone lose.”

The AAP leader further emphasised his party's welfare schemes, claiming that 70 per cent of women, according to a survey, support the AAP and urged them to convince men in their families to vote for his party, alleging that men often get “distracted” by the BJP and the Congress.

He said, “I have been in politics for twelve years now, yet I still don’t know how to do politics. You can ask me to fix electricity, improve water supply, build roads, construct schools, and develop hospitals—I will make them excellent. But if you ask me to engage in abuses, dirty politics, and political maneuvering, I don’t know how to do that. Politics is not my thing; you can keep it. I am not here for the AAP.”

Taking on the BJP over the rising ammonia levels in the Yamuna, Kejriwal once again accused the Haryana government of “poisoning” Delhi's water supply. Kejriwal's fresh attack on the Congress comes amid growing rifts within the INDIA alliance.

The fissures deepened on Tuesday when he hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who had accused him of being ‘afraid’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and being involved in the ‘liquor scam’. Responding to Gandhi's remarks, Kejriwal said on X, “Don't preach on fear and bravery. The country knows who is a coward and who is brave.”

While the AAP and the Congress had joined forces for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, their decision to contest the Delhi Assembly polls separately has exposed underlying tensions.  The Congress, which once ruled Delhi for 15 years under Sheila Dikshit, is campaigning to reclaim lost ground, while the AAP is fending off both the Congress and the BJP.

With polling scheduled for February 5 and results set to be declared on February 8, the political temperature in Delhi continues to rise. While key INDIA allies like Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) have backed Kejriwal, the Congress is resolute to stage a comeback.