NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday expressed confidence in the survival of the INDIA alliance, despite growing tensions between Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of the Delhi assembly elections.
“The INDIA alliance will survive. If we do not keep the INDIA alliance alive, the opposition will die. They [BJP] will eliminate the opposition,” Raut said, underscoring the bloc’s critical role in safeguarding democracy. “INDIA alliance was formed for the Lok Sabha elections, but today it is a need of the nation and democracy to keep it intact.”
Addressing the discord between Congress and AAP, Raut acknowledged the challenges of local alliances while urging Congress, as the largest partner, to lead efforts to preserve unity.
“In Delhi, the Congress and AAP think that they are big powers. In Maharashtra, we have said that the local body elections are of the workers. It is difficult to form an alliance there, but our alliance will be intact in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha. Being the bigger party in the alliance, it is the responsibility of Congress to keep us together,” he said.
Earlier, Communist Party of India General Secretary D Raja admitted that the alliance appeared divided, particularly with Congress and AAP contesting the Delhi polls independently. BJP leaders, including Union home minister Amit Shah, have also criticised the opposition bloc, describing it as “completely disintegrated”.
On Monday, Raut met Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai to discuss the future of the Maharashtra opposition coalition and the upcoming local elections. Dismissing Shah’s remarks about the alliance’s disintegration, Raut countered that the BJP’s success in Maharashtra was built on betrayal.
“Shah should focus on issues like the violence in Manipur and irregularities in Maharashtra instead of lecturing others on loyalty,” Raut said, defending his alliance leaders Uddhav Thackeray and Pawar against criticism.
With Congress struggling to regain its footing in Delhi, where it has been out of power since 2013, the growing tensions within the INDIA bloc are casting doubts on its ability to present a united front. AAP, buoyed by its stronghold in the capital, has accused Congress of aiding the BJP by targeting its party chief, Arvind Kejriwal.
