New Delhi: AAP’s Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan on Sunday blamed the Congress for the party’s defeat in the Delhi polls, a charge rubbished by the grand old party.
AAP – which had won 62 assembly constituencies in 2020 and 67 in 2015 – saw its tally plunge to 22 as the BJP registered a landslide victory with 48 seats in the 70-member House.
Khan accused the Congress of prioritising AAP’s defeat over its own electoral success.
“The Congress contested the election not to win but to ensure our defeat. Rahul Gandhi came to campaign in my constituency for the first time ever. It knew it had no chance of winning but was determined to make us lose,” Khan said.
AAP and the Congress are constituents of the opposition INDIA bloc and had contested last year’s Lok Sabha elections in an alliance in Delhi.
Alliance partners are supposed to support the strongest party in each state, Khan said.
“We were strong in Delhi, not the Congress. But its actions helped the BJP come to power. The Congress had nothing to lose but its strategy hurt secular voters the most,” he added.
AAP secured 43.57 per cent of the votes polled while the BJP managed 45.56 per cent. The Congress’ vote share stood at 6.34 per cent.
Highlighting the narrow difference, Khan claimed AAP was defeated using every possible means.
Responding to Khan’s claims, senior Congress leader Narendra Nath asserted that his party contested the elections to win.
“Our vote share went up. We contested with the intent to win, not make anyone lose. It is a different matter that our vote count exceeded AAP’s losing margin in 14 seats,” the former Delhi minister said.
Another Congress leader attributed the party’s improved performance to its proactive campaign under Delhi chief Devender Yadav.
“Our Delhi Nyay Yatra and the timely announcement of strong candidates helped restore the public’s faith in the Congress, leading to a better performance,” he said.
Khan also accused the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) of working to the BJP’s advantage.
“The AIMIM contested on two seats using the BJP’s money. Even during vote counting, BJP workers were more interested in the AIMIM’s numbers than their own,” he said.
