Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal getting bail from the Supreme Court (SC) is going to be a mixed bag for the Congress. Even though the Congress and others, as alliance partners and members of the opposition’s INDIA bloc, are hailing the bail, calling it “justice”, it is also a cause of worry for the Congress camp. Because Kejriwal’s release means he will now focus on the Haryana elections. AAP MP Raghav Chadha said, “Absolutely, now Arvind Kejriwal will lead our Haryana election campaign.”
Had it been any other occasion, this wouldn’t have been such a big deal, but the problem is that with the alliance between AAP and Congress broken and Kejriwal out on bail, people who want to vote differently this time may also choose AAP.
Every vote that goes to AAP means a loss for Congress. Congress will have to pay the price of AAP’s increase in vote percentage in the form of losses. This will definitely make the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) happy.
Former Haryana chief minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda has strongly opposed any alliance with the AAP in Haryana on the grounds that they do not deserve more than five seats.
In fact, when a meeting was held to discuss the alliance and AAP’s demand for more than 10 seats, Hooda and Congress’ Ajay Maken had said that the alliance with AAP in Delhi had not helped them win even a single seat.
Also, where the Congress was strong, AAP had damaged their votes. According to Hooda, the Gandhi family and the top leadership, the support for the Congress in Haryana is so strong that even AAP cannot make a dent in it.
The top leadership of Congress would certainly hope that Hooda’s words would come true. But in the last few years, while the Aam Aadmi Party has emerged as a third option, it has also caused harm to the Congress. For example, we can look at Goa and Gujarat.
Also, unlike Goa and Gujarat, Kejriwal and AAP have higher hopes. By having governments in Delhi and Punjab, AAP hopes that its impact will reach the neighbouring state of Haryana as well. Kejriwal will also play the card that he belongs to this state.
Now it remains to be seen whether Kejriwal will not erode Congress’s position by calling himself a son of Haryana?