oppn parties No "Grand Alliance" For Arvind Kejriwal

Story Of The Day

Assessee Not Responsible For Ensuring TDS Is Paid To The Government: Delhi HC
OPINIONS : Strongly Expressed

December 21, 2024

People Are Talking About

Rohit Warns Sarfaraz, Police Use It To Warn Two-Wheeler Riders

News Snippets

  • The Indian envoy in Bangladesh was summoned by the country's government over the breach in the Bangladesh mission in Agartala
  • Bank account to soon have 4 nominees each
  • TMC and SP stayed away from the INDIA bloc protest over the Adani issue in the Lok Sabha
  • Delhi HC stops the police from arresting Nadeem Khan over a viral video which the police claimed promoted 'enmity'. Court says 'India's harmony not so fragile'
  • Trafiksol asked to refund IPO money by Sebi on account of alleged fraud
  • Re goes down to 84.76 against the USD but ends flat after RBI intervenes
  • Sin goods like tobacco, cigarettes and soft drinks likely to face 35% GST in the post-compensation cess era
  • Bank credit growth slows to 11% (20.6% last year) with retail oans also showing a slowdown
  • Stock markets continue their winning streak on Tuesday: Sensex jumps 597 points to 80845 and Nifty gains 181 points to 24457
  • Asian junior hockey: Defending champions India enter the finals by beating Malaysia 3-1, to play Pakistan for the title
  • Chess World title match: Ding Liren salvages a sraw in the 7th game which he almost lost
  • Experts speculate whether Ding Liren wants the world title match against D Gukesh to go into tie-break after he let off Gukesh easily in the 5th game
  • Tata Memorial Hospital and AIIMS have severely criticized former cricketer and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for claiming that his wife fought back cancer with home remedies like haldi, garlic and neem. The hospitals warned the public for not going for such unproven remedies and not delaying treatment as it could prove fatal
  • 3 persons died and scores of policemen wer injured when a survey of a mosque in Sambhal near Bareilly in UP turned violent
  • Bangladesh to review power pacts with Indian companies, including those of the Adani group
D Gukesh is the new chess world champion at 18, the first teen to wear the crown. Capitalizes on an error by Ding Liren to snatch the crown by winning the final game g
oppn parties
No "Grand Alliance" For Arvind Kejriwal

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2022-05-09 10:08:46

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.

Delhi chief minister and national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today categorically ruled out being a part of any 'grand alliance' for the 2024 general elections. He dramatically said that his party will form an alliance only "with 130 crore Indians". This proves that the AAP is considering itself as a serious alternative national political force and is increasingly becoming confident that it can take over the political space that the Congress is found to be ceding through its ineptitude. Since this remark comes after a recent one-hour long meeting with one of the chief movers of the grand alliance, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, it also shows that Kejriwal is either not convinced that such an alliance will in fact materialize or that AAP will benefit from it even if it materializes.

Kejriwal also said that "I don't know how to do politics and I don't understand their alliance of 10 or more parties and an alliance being formed to defeat someone. I don't want to defeat anyone, I want the country to win". This confidence is in a large part a result of the party's perseverance paying off in Punjab and its isolated wins in states like Goa, Assam and Gujarat. As the party spreads its wings and establishes wings in many states, Kejriwal must be getting positive feedback from the people who are impressed with his focus on service delivery and his anti-corruption plank. He knows it is a long road but he is willing to travel alone as he has judged that people are disenchanted with both the main national parties and are seriously wishing for an alternative which, as he said, will not be in the form of a grand alliance.

This will sooner or later pit AAP against the might of regional players in many states. For now, AAP has steered clear of seriously entering into states that have strong regional parties in government. It has targeted or is targeting states where either the Congress or the BJP is in power. Hence, it has Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh next on its list and Haryana and Rajasthan after that. But the real game will start when AAP enters West Bengal, UP, Odisha, Bihar or the southern states and engages in direct contest with regional parties. Then, he will become a pariah for them and they will accuse him of helping the BJP by splitting votes. He may even be branded as the B-Team of the BJP. But his statements show that Kejriwal is willing to plough a lone furrow in his bid to make AAP the national alternative political force. 

Other Stories You Make Like

Editorials

Turmoil In Mollywood

Turmoil In Mollywood

NDA 3.0: Coalition Dharma

NDA 3.0: Coalition Dharma

In Depth

Supreme Court Gets Strict On Child Pornography

Supreme Court Gets Strict On Child Pornography

Editor's Pick

Budapest Chess Olympiad: India Are World Team Champions

Budapest Chess Olympiad: India Are World Team Champions
© 2014 India Commentary. All rights reserved.