The Aam Aadmi Party will support the incoming National Conference government in Jammu and Kashmir, Arvind Kejriwal’s outfit has said. A letter of support has been given – from the party’s lone MLA – Mehraj Malik of the Doda constituency – to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
One more seat in the NC’s corner will not change Chief Minister-elect Omar Abdullah’s fortunes; direct support Thursday from four independents means he already has a majority of 46 in the 90-member House. But the AAP’s support underlines the Congress’ slide in fortunes.
The National Conference-Congress alliance bucked exit poll predictions to win the J&K election; the NC won 42 of the former state’s 90 Assembly seats but it was the Congress’ dire performance – winning just six seats compared to 12 in the last election – that made headlines.
The Congress’ return led to fierce criticism from allies, particularly after a dismal show in the Haryana election. It also emphasised its precarious position as INDIA bloc head.
Bloc member Shiv Sena (UBT) offered a scathing review of the Congress’ Haryana horror, calling out the party’s Delhi HQ for failing to reign in state leader Bhupinder Hooda and, significantly, not sharing seats with allies – either AAP or Samajwadi Party. Failure to do so, the Maharashtra party fumed, may have cost the Congress a Haryana election it was supposed to win.
That criticism came with the Maharashtra election – for which the Sena (UBT), the Congress, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction are expected to contest together – due later this year.
The AAP’s extension of support to the National Conference – and not the INDIA bloc – has been seen as another Congress ally’s jab over the party’s failure to reach seat-share deals.
The two parties – pushed together by Rahul Gandhi – held several rounds of talks for the Haryana election, but no deal was made, with a recalcitrant Bhupinder Hooda being blamed.
After the Haryana and J&K election results were announced, AAP MP Raghav Chadha, who had been tasked with leading his party’s talks with the Congress, posted a pointed message on X.
Mr Chadha posted a small poem in Hindi that, roughly translated, wonders what would have happened had the two parties managed to strike a deal.
At least one other INDIA bloc ally – Bengal’s ruling Trinamool – also had harsh words for the Congress’ “attitude” during seat-share talks. Those followed party boss Mamata Banerjee’s criticism after last year’s Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh election debacles.
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