‘AAP-Congress fought to destroy each other’

Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena said the rift between India Block allies, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress, contributed to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s landslide victory in the Delhi Assembly Elections 2025. An editorial in the Sena UBT party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ asked why there is a need for an opposition alliance when its constituents keep fighting each other instead of fighting against the saffron party. In the electoral contest for the 70-member Delhi Assembly, the BJP won 48 seats, ousting the Arvind Kejriwal-led party from power in the capital. The Aam Aadmi Party suffered a massive defeat and got just 22 seats. Meanwhile, the Congress’ dismal performance continued and it did not get any seat for the third consecutive time in the Delhi Assembly elections. The Saamana editorial said, “Both AAP and Congress in Delhi fought to destroy each other, making things easier for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. If this continues, then why form an alliance at all? Just fight to your heart’s content!” Both the AAP and the Congress hurled several accusations at each other during the campaign for the Delhi election. It added that similar setbacks among opposition parties also brought disappointment in Maharashtra, where the BJP-led alliance swept the 2024 state assembly elections. The Marathi daily further claimed that if opposition parties failed to learn from the Delhi election results, it would only strengthen the “autocratic rule” under Modi and Shah.