No possibility of alliance with Congress for Delhi polls: Arvind Kejriwal
New Delhi (PTI): AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday once again ruled out the possibility of an alliance with the Congress for the Delhi assembly polls, amid reports that the two parties could be jointly contesting the elections.
In a post on X, Kejriwal said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will be fighting the election on its own strength in Delhi.
"There is no possibility of any alliance with the Congress," the former Delhi chief minister said.
His reaction comes amid media reports that the two parties were likely to have a tie up for the 70-member Delhi Assembly polls due in February.
Earlier this month also, Kejriwal had ruled out the possibility of the alliance between the AAP and the Congress for the Delhi elections.
The recent buzz over alliance between the two Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners was fuelled by cancellation of the Congress' 'Nyay Chaupal' event scheduled on Wednesday in which party leader Rahul Gandhi was to participate.
The event was to be held as culmination of the "Nyay Yatra" taken out by the Delhi Congress across Delhi ahead of the assembly polls.
Also, Kejriwal on Tuesday met NCP chief Sharad Pawar amid the rising demand in the INDIA block to appoint West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as head of the political grouping currently chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
However, neither Kejriwal nor AAP have so far commented on the discussions in the meeting.
These developments were seen as the Congress and AAP making their moves cautiously in view of the upcoming Delhi polls so that the future options remain open, sources said.
The AAP and Congress fought the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi together earlier this year but lost on all the seven seats against the BJP. However, they failed to reach a seat-sharing agreement ahead of the Haryana Assembly polls in October despite several rounds of talks.
The AAP has so far released two lists of its total 31 candidates so far. The list of remaining candidates is expected to come soon.
Out of power in Delhi since 1998, the BJP is making all-out efforts to wrest power from the AAP.
In the 2015 and 2020 Delhi Assembly polls, the AAP won 67 and 62 seats and the BJP won three and eight seats respectively.The Congress drew a blank.
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TVK chief should be given opportunity to prove majority in TN Assembly: Omar
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said there was no justification for the Tamil Nadu governor to stop TVK leader Vijay from forming the government, and he should be provided an opportunity to prove majority in the assembly.
Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Thursday rejected TVK chief Vijay's claim to form the government, stating that his party lacks the requisite numbers.
The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has fallen short of meeting a simple majority to form the government in Tamil Nadu. Though the Congress with five MLAs has offered support to TVK, Vijay's party falls short of a simple majority of 118 in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly.
Abdullah said there was no justification for President's rule in Tamil Nadu in view of numerous Supreme Court judgements emphasising on inviting the single largest party to form the government and then prove its majority on the floor of the house.
"If we see the Supreme Court judgement, then there should be no President's rule. There are so many cases in which the SC has clearly stated that after the elections, the single largest party should be invited (for government formation) and they should be allowed to prove their majority in the assembly," Abdullah told reporters here when asked about the political situation in Tamil Nadu.
"It happened when (former prime minister) (A B) Vajpayee formed the government for 13 days, the President of India did not wait for him to show his numbers. The President of India invited him, the government was there for 13 days, but when Vajpayee did not have the numbers, he resigned," he said.
So, if we take the SC judgement, the J-K CM added, then the Tamil Nadu Lok Bhavan "has no justification to stop this process".
"Vijay should be allowed to form the government, and then he should be provided an opportunity to prove his majority and if he proves, he will remain, but if not, then he will have to resign," Abdullah said.
To a question on whether there would be impact of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Jammu and Kashmir, the CM said its impact remains to be seen in the rest of the country first as the assembly elections in the Union territory were not due till 2029.
"As of now it (SIR) has happened in Bengal only. Why are you worried about J-K? The elections are not to take place here till 2029. Let us first see its impact in the rest of the country. What we had to suffer (in J-K), we have. We suffered their delimitation, which was done to benefit the BJP and its friends. Let's see what happens in the future," he said.
On the reported remarks of Leader of Opposition in the J-K assembly, Sunil Sharma, that if the chief minister goes for cabinet expansion, then his party, the National Conference (NC), would suffer like the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and someone like Eknath Shinde would emerge here as well, Abdullah said all his MLAs stand firmly with the party.
"This tells about the intentions of the BJP. 'Aaya Ram Gaya Ram' (turncoats). Eknath Shinde left because the BJP helped him to leave. It is obvious that the LoP is impatient to hold the chair of the chief minister of J-K. I will only tell him that there is no Eknath Shinde in the National Conference. NC's MLAs stand firmly with the party," he said.
Abdullah said the cabinet expansion is on hold because statehood has not been restored to J-K.
"Cabinet expansion is not on hold because of any fear and that is why I regularly say that the LoP proves through statements like this that till the BJP does not get power, they will not allow us to work smoothly and will not make J-K a state again," he said.
Hitting out at the LoP and the BJP, the J-K CM said the people of J-K, especially those who voted for the BJP in the last elections, should remember that the LoP and his party "indulge in the politics of blackmail and the people here are intimidated in the name of statehood".
