NEW DELHI: The wheels seem to be coming loose for Congress after the party’s dismal show in the Delhi assembly polls. Congress failed to win a single seat, marking its third consecutive zero tally in the Delhi assembly.
The results have further deepened the crisis within the Congress, with many leaders questioning the party’s electoral strategy, with calls for urgent introspection and organisational reforms
Congress MP from Katihar Tariq Anwar called for the party to clarify its “political strategy” and called for fundamental changes in the party’s organisation.
“Congress needs to clarify its political strategy. They have to decide whether they will do coalition politics or go it alone. Also, it has become necessary to make fundamental changes in the party’s organisation,” Anwar said in a post on X.
Party leader Rashid Alvi echoed similar sentiments and said that the grand-old party needs to “respect all parties in the INDIA bloc” if they aim to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He warned that the results were a cause of concern for the Muslim community in Delhi, adding, “This election has forced them to think that the BJP has won because of us. If we want to defeat the BJP, we must respect all parties in the INDIA alliance and strengthen the coalition.”
“If Congress and Aam Aadmi Party had fought Delhi elections together, then BJP could not have won. Congress high command has to decide if we have to go with our allies or contest elections alone. What has happened in Delhi is a matter of worry for the Muslims in Delhi,” he said.
“This election in Delhi has forced them to think that BJP has won the election because of us (Congress). If we have to defeat BJP, we have to respect all parties in the INDIA alliance and also strengthen the alliance and fight elections unitedly,” Alvi added.
The BJP secured a two-third majority in the Delhi assembly elections, marking the end of Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) decade-long rule in the capital. This victory brought the BJP back to power in Delhi after 27 years, with the party winning 48 out of 70 seats.
AAP managed to win only 22, with several of its top leaders, including former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, suffering defeats. Kejriwal lost the New Delhi seat to BJP’s Parvesh Verma by a margin of 4,089 votes, while Congress’s candidate Sandeep Dikshit performed poorly, securing just 4,568 votes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the victory as “historic,” saying, “The people of Delhi have driven out ‘AAP-da’. Today, development, vision, and trust have won in Delhi. Ostentation, anarchy, arrogance, and the ‘AAP-da’ that had engulfed Delhi have been defeated.”
Kejriwal, in a video message, accepted the mandate and congratulated the BJP. “We accept the people’s verdict with humility. I hope the BJP fulfils all the promises for which people have voted for them,” he said.