SP, TMC reiterate support for AAP in Delhi, say it’s better placed to defeat BJP
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the INDIA alliance is intact and added that when it was formed, it was decided that wherever a regional party was strong, the bloc would support it
Two key constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Wednesday reiterated their support for ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in poll-bound Delhi, saying it was better placed to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) than the Congress.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said his party has decided to stand with AAP as it is strong. “The question is about Delhi and our goal is that the BJP gets defeated. The Congress and AAP have the same goal too...,” he told reporters in Haridwar.
Yadav said the INDIA alliance is intact and added that when it was formed, it was decided that wherever a regional party was strong, the bloc would support it. “AAP is strong in Delhi and the Samajwadi Party has decided to support it. The regional party fighting against the BJP should be supported.”
In West Bengal, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee echoed Yadav. “When we formed the INDIA alliance, everyone agreed on one principle — that we should stand with those who are powerful in their respective regions. In Bengal, it is TMC...” He added in Delhi; the AAP is in power having won 67 out of 70 seats. “Where they are in power, we will stand with them. Where Congress is powerful, we will stand with Congress, and where DMK [Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam] is strong, we will support them...”
Last week, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah regretted a lack of clarity on the part of the INDIA leadership and said the bloc should be wound up if it was formed only for the parliamentary elections amid the flagging of the grouping since. He maintained there was no time frame attached to the bloc.
Abdullah said the AAP, Congress, and other parties have to take the call on how they effectively compete against the BJP in Delhi. He added after the Delhi assembly elections, these parties should convene a meeting of all the alliance members. Abdullah said If this alliance was only for the parliamentary elections, then it should be wound up and they will work separately. Abdullah was responding to a question about Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav’s statement that the bloc was only for the Lok Sabha polls.
The AAP and the Congress have been at loggerheads and traded allegations ahead of the February 5 Delhi assembly polls. The two INDIA bloc constituents are contesting the polls separately even as they fought the 2024 national election together in Delhi.
The AAP last month sought Congress’s removal from the bloc if it did not take action against its leaders for their statements against Delhi’s ruling party and for allegedly receiving the BJP’s funding. It accused Congress’s Delhi unit of working with the BJP to ensure AAP’s defeat in the Delhi polls.
Key constituents of the INDIA bloc earlier backed West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to head it amid growing calls for a shake-up within the coalition. The grouping has flagged since it did well in the national polls as the BJP fell short of the halfway mark of 272 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha for the first time since 2014, making it dependent on allies to form the government.
Banerjee has said she was willing to lead the coalition if given an opportunity. INDIA bloc of around two dozen parties was formed last year to counter the BJP.
The AAP-Congress tensions escalated last month as Delhi Congress unveiled a “white paper” citing BJP and AAP’s mismanagement and unkept promises. Delhi Pradesh’s Youth Congress filed a police complaint against Kejriwal and AAP for misleading voters and fraud. The AAP has alleged Congress has fielded candidates with the sole goal of damaging its prospects.
