14 Opposition parties eye pact for 2024, Congress-AAP deal unlikely

At least 14 Opposition parties will try to strike a deal among themselves ahead of the 2024 general elections but any pre-poll pact between the Congress and the AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) will be an uphill task, given the complexity in their equation, party leaders from both sides indicated on Saturday.

A day after Friday’s mega Opposition gathering in Patna, AAP functionaries rued the fact that despite Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal requesting senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi “with folded hands” during the meet to decide a date for a meeting over tea between leaders of both parties to resolve differences, the latter declined and refused to denounce the controversial Delhi ordinance. Congress leaders, however, maintained that Gandhi did not say a word on the ordinance and that party president Mallikarjun Kharge did not announce the Congress position on the issue in Patna, saying any decision has to be first discussed within the party.

In the recent past, the AAP has made appeals to the Congress to denounce the ordinance. AAP functionaries said Gandhi questioned the “eagerness” being shown to get the Congress to spell out its stand on the ordinance. Congress leaders did not corroborate any such exchange.

Read | Opposition 'satisfied' with Patna meeting, next huddle in Shimla on July 10-12

Kejriwal attended the Opposition meeting with three other AAP leaders, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, parliamentarians Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh, where senior leaders from various parties urged the Congress to denounce the ordinance, which did not materialise, as a result of which AAP leaders skipped a joint press conference, people familiar with the developments said.

Though Kejriwal wanted an instant decision, leaders of other parties were of the view that it should be given time, the people cited above said. Later, the AAP said it will be difficult for it to attend future meetings of Opposition parties where the Congress is present if the latter doesn’t publicly denounce the ordinance.

Two senior Congress leaders indicated on Saturday that chances of any pre-poll adjustment with the AAP were almost nil and the party will be looking to strengthen its existing alliances in states such as Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Kerala, Maharashtra and Jharkhand and will strive to seal a pact with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.

Read here: Congress likely to pitch themes of Bharat Jodo Yatra for opposition unity

“The way AAP has been trying to corner the Congress in many states, it will be difficult for us to consider an alliance with it,” said a senior Congress leader. “They fought in Goa and Karnataka only to help the BJP. In Delhi and Punjab they are our main rival. We can’t give away seats to AAP in these two places.”

In Goa, the BJP retained power while the Congress swept Karnataka.

The Congress’s Delhi unit is vehemently opposed to the AAP and any possible adjustment is unlikely to get its support.

Ajay Maken, former Union minister and a key face of the Congress in Delhi, said, “We should have no understanding with the Aam Aadmi Party.” Maken also alleged that, “Time and again, it has been established that AAP has deep-rooted links with the BJP-RSS. Even before he formed AAP, he took support from Kiran Bedi (BJP’s CM face for Delhi in the last election), Gen VK Singh (now a Union minister).”

A senior Opposition leader said in the Patna meeting, Kejriwal tried to shift focus away from Opposition unity and a common agenda by raising the ordinance issue.

People close to the AAP, however, said that at the beginning of the Patna meeting leaders spoke on Opposition unity. Kejriwal was the second to speak after Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and he shared his thoughts on Opposition unity and what the formula should be to defeat the BJP, they said, adding that the AAP’s main issue was the ordinance and it was imperative that the CM spoke on it extensively.

“The ordinance is against democracy and the Constitution. And anyone in favour of democracy and the Constitution cannot stand in favour of the ordinance. We believe that the Congress party cannot stand in favour of the ordinance. And when you cannot stand in support of the ordinance, denounce the ordinance publicly,” a senior AAP leader said, quoting Kejriwal.

The AAP has in the past projected itself as an alternative to the BJP and the Congress and its rise in Delhi and Punjab came at the cost of the Congress. The AAP is also planning to contest upcoming assembly elections in the Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, as well as in Madhya Pradesh where the Congress is seeking to return to power.

Last month, the BJP-led Centre promulgated an ordinance restoring to itself the power over services in Delhi by making a raft of major amendments in the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Act, 1991. The ordinance effectively rolled back a Constitution bench judgment of the Supreme Court that handed over control of the bureaucracy in the Capital to the elected government, excluding those connected to police, public order and land.

The ordinance is likely to be brought before Parliament in the upcoming monsoon session for approval, presenting a key challenge for Opposition unity. While several parties such as the Trinamool Congress, Left parties and Bharat Rashtra Samithi have assured the AAP of support, the Congress is yet to make a public declaration.