Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said the Congress party has shut its doors on an alliance with his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi and AAP is preparing to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on its own.
Kejriwal said that despite their bitter rivalry, he was in favour of a tie-up with the Congress to “remove the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo from power”, which he feels is the "biggest challenge" to the country.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said the Congress party has shut its doors on an alliance with his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi and AAP is preparing to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on its own.
"They (Congress) have refused to go for a gathbandhan (alliance). It appears they are firm," Kejriwal told NDTV.
He said that despite their bitter rivalry, he was in favour of a tie-up with the Congress to “remove the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo from power”, which he feels is the "biggest challenge" to the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, he said, "have destroyed the economy, caused an environment of hate and weakened the country's unity in a way Pakistan couldn't in 70 years. To stop them, we will do anything. We don't have any love for the Congress."
But the Congress had refused, he stated. "All doors are closed and we are preparing to contest alone," Kejriwal said.
The development comes days after the February 13 ‘Remove Dictatorship, Save Democracy’ mega opposition rally, called by the AAP, which saw Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Trinamool Congress supremo and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee participating.
Refusing to elaborate on the talks, Kejriwal told NDTV: "Broadly, it means there will be no gatbandhan. The net result is that there will be no alliance with the Congress," he said.
He questioned the Congress's moves in various states, and accused the party of weakening the opposition by going it alone.
"What is the Congress intending? They are weakening the opposition in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal...But in Delhi, we are confident that AAP will win all seven seats," he said.
The BJP won the seven Delhi seats in the 2014 election.
The AAP and Congress have been bitter rivals in Delhi. The initial rounds of talks between both sides had failed – with former Congress chief minister Sheila Dikshit stating there would be no such alliance.
Later Congress president Rahul Gandhi indicated that partnership between the two parties could not be ruled out at the moment.