The Congress and AAP party dispute in Punjab has now escalated to the national level. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge expressed his party’s disapproval of the arrest of a Congress MLA, stating that the party will not tolerate injustice. This arrest, along with the ongoing disagreements between the parties in Punjab, poses a threat to the INDIA alliance, which aims to present a united opposition against the BJP in next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
The day started with the arrest of Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who is a prominent party member and opposes any alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party. He was arrested in connection with a 2015 case involving drug smuggling and money laundering. Khaira accused the ruling AAP party, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, of having malicious intentions. The Punjab Health Minister, Dr. Balbir Singh, defended the arrest by stating that fresh evidence had emerged in the case and that the law applies to everyone regardless of their political affiliation.
When asked about Khaira’s arrest, Kharge responded that he was still unaware of the details since he was traveling directly from Bengaluru to Chattisgarh. However, he made it clear that his party does not tolerate injustice and those who commit such acts do not survive for long.
Despite efforts to portray unity at the national level, the disputes between the Congress and AAP in Punjab have been evident. Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring referred to Khaira’s arrest as an attempt to intimidate the opposition. The Congress state unit held a meeting to discuss the arrest and later met with Governor Banwarilal Purohit to seek intervention.
The AAP also criticized the Congress and stated that they would not form an alliance with a party that is corrupt and has connections with gangsters. Tensions have been simmering even before this arrest, particularly regarding seat-sharing for the Lok Sabha polls. Both parties have expressed their intent to fight on all seats in Punjab.
These disagreements could have an impact on the INDIA alliance. During the first opposition meeting in Patna, the AAP announced that it would not participate in future gatherings if the Congress did not publicly oppose the Centre’s ordinance on control of administrative services in Delhi. While this dispute was resolved, seat-sharing negotiations in Punjab, Delhi, and Gujarat remain challenging for the alliance. The alliance also faces difficulties in states like Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, which elect a significant number of MPs to the Lok Sabha.
In West Bengal, the situation became more complicated when the CPIM decided against forming alliances in the state and Kerala and chose not to send any representatives to the INDIA coordination meetings. These differences within the INDIA Bloc are a reality, as stated by CPIM leader Nilotpal Basu.
Overall, the dispute between the Congress and AAP in Punjab, along with the challenges in seat-sharing negotiations, pose a threat to the unity of the INDIA alliance as they strive to defeat the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.