While at the national level, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress have joined hands as part of the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) Opposition grouping, the bond appears to be on a weak wicket in Punjab.
Senior leaders of the Congress’ Punjab unit have been critical of any possible alliance with the AAP, which is in power in Punjab. Congress leaders have been consistently drawing their party high command’s attention to the AAP’s campaign against Congress leaders and workers in State by allegedly misusing the police and investigation agencies, thus ruling out solidarity.
On Tuesday, disquiet was visible again when the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Congress’ Partap Singh Bajwa, dismissed any collaboration relationship with the AAP. “We don’t have any kind of relation with the AAP. We have stated it earlier and [we are] repeating it again today,” Mr. Bajwa said, responding to a question from a journalist, adding, “If we were supporting them [the AAP], would we have been at a sit-in protest [dharna] against them?”
