AAP’s Exit from INDIA Alliance and Its Consequences

The departure of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from the INDIA alliance may have a far-reaching consequence in Indian politics. The first casualty of APP’s latest decision will be the floor coordination among the opposition parties during the ongoing monsoon session of the parliament, as the party has a combined strength of 12 members in both houses. While the number of AAP MPs in Lok Sabha may not matter much, its nine Rajya Sabha MPs can play decisive roles in the passage of crucial bills as the BJP does not enjoy clear majority in the upper house and has to depend on smaller parties for support. It may be mentioned here that AAP’s support to the ruling party in Rajya Sabha was crucial in abolishing Article 370 of the constitution that provided special status to Jammu & Kashmir. According to the political observers, AAP may adopt a similar strategy this time too, just to prove that it is firm about snapping ties with the opposition parties.

Without mincing any words, AAP has claimed that it was forced to take such a decision due to the failure of the Congress party to strengthen the opposition alliance though it’s the single largest party in the group. It holds waters with the Congress failing to take any step to strengthen the alliance despite an impressive show of the INDIA block during the last general elections. The grand old party also decided to go alone in Haryana assembly elections by ditching the AAP, and in the process snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. The poll results clearly showed that BJP would lose power in the state after being in power for a decade had the Congress and AAP stitched an alliance. In the recent by-election in Gujarat, the AAP managed to relegate the Congress to the third place by grabbing the second place.

The AAP’s exit from the INDIA alliance appears to be a well-calculated one as it is desperately trying to make a comeback after its defeat in Delhi Assembly polls. In its quest to regain the lost ground, the party has set its eyes on both Gujarat and Punjab, where Assembly elections will be held in 2027. By snapping ties with the opposition parties, the AAP seems to be trying to convey the message to its supporters that it has not deviated from its original pledge to fight corruption, for which it gained popularity. In other words, the party is now making all efforts to go back to its roots by distancing itself from the parties against whom it took to the streets not so long ago, and it is not good news for the opposition parties who are trying to build a united front to take on BJP.