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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) distanced itself from the INDIA bloc on Friday, saying it is not part of the opposition alliance anymore.
AAP and Congress fought the Lok Sabha elections together. (File)
Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has officially exited the opposition’s Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc on Friday.
Party’s senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Friday said that the AAP is not part of the opposition alliance anymore and will also not participate in the alliance’s meeting scheduled ahead of the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament which will begin on Monday.
Singh said that the INDIA bloc was formed only for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and the party has contested all subsequent assembly polls independently. AAP and Congress had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections together in Delhi under the INDIA bloc. However, the two parties went solo in both the Haryana and Delhi assembly polls.
“The AAP has cleared its stand. The INDIA bloc was for the (2024) Lok Sabha polls. We fought the Delhi and Haryana Assembly polls on our own. We are going to fight the Bihar election solo. We fought the bypolls in Punjab and Gujarat all by ourselves. The AAP is not part of the INDIA,” the Rajya Sabha MP said as quoted by news agency PTI.
#WATCH | Delhi: AAP MP Sanjay Singh says, “We have clarified our position that the INDIA alliance was there till the Lok Sabha elections. As far as the Parliament is concerned, we have always been opposing all the wrong policies of the government…We said that officially, the… pic.twitter.com/ridne6c1NP— ANI (@ANI) July 16, 2025
The AAP leader, however, said that the party will maintain strategic alliances with opposition parties within the parliament. He said, “On Parliamentary issues, we do take the support of opposition parties such as the TMC and DMK. And so do they take our support. We have always played the role of a strong and powerful opposition and will do so,” he added.
Meanwhile, the AAP leader questioned the Congress’ role in leading the opposition bloc.
“It is not child’s play. Did they hold any meeting after the Lok Sabha polls? Was there any initiative to expand the INDIA bloc? Sometimes they criticise Akhilesh Yadav, sometimes Uddhav Thackeray and sometimes Mamata Banerjee. The INDIA should have been united. The Congress is the biggest party of the bloc. But did it play a role (in ensuring opposition unity)?” he asked.
The month-long Monsoon Session of Parliament is set to commence on July 21. Ahead of the session, a meeting of the leaders of the INDIA bloc parties will be held online on Saturday evening to discuss the prevailing political situation in the country. It will be held after a long gap since the constituents of the INDIA last deliberated on the country’s political situation jointly.
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben…Read More
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben… Read More
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