Congress MP Manickam Tagore said Monday that the INDIA bloc was formed for the 2024 general elections and that state-specific coalitions were the way to go in the assembly polls, despite allegations that the AAP-Congress squabbling in Delhi favored the BJP.
Tagore claimed that alliance partners are asking the wrong person and should direct their inquiries to the person who "broke the alliance" in Delhi, presumably referring to AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal, in response to those who were criticizing the Congress for playing spoilsport for the AAP in Delhi.
"It is evident that the INDIA coalition was formed in preparation for the 2024 general elections. Different strategies were developed in different states (in those polls as well). In Delhi, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party were allies, but not in Punjab. In Gujarat, we had an alliance, but not there. In Goa, they were helping us," he claimed.
"On December 1, Arvind Kejriwal ji declared that they will be fighting alone in the assembly elections. Outside of Parliament, Tagore told reporters, "We hope that our alliance partners will also realize that they are asking the wrong person and that they should ask the question to the person who broke the alliance."
He claimed that the INDIA alliance was created specifically for the 2024 general elections.
Its primary goal was to unite the anti-Modi, anti-BJP, and anti-RSS elements on a single platform, and it has been accomplished. Since then, floor-level coordination has been taking place in Parliament," he stated.
"In his speech, Rahul Gandhi, the opposition leader, discussed the INDIA bloc vision as an alternative vision that went beyond the Congress's. We are therefore supportive of the India bloc, but we are aware that one alliance partner's response could jeopardize it," he stated.
"Elections in the states will be different. Alliances at the state level will be used to fight state elections. We are working together in Parliament, and our LoP refers to it as an INNDIA bloc vision," Tagore stated.
The Congress MP from Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, stated that the SP, TMC, and AAP are all fighting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah together in Parliament.
"That is how the Indian bloc was established; we had an alliance in Delhi but not in Punjab. In Tamil Nadu, the Congress and the CPI(M) have an alliance, but not in Kerala," he stated.
When asked about the criticism of the Congress by Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Ram Gopal Yadav and the accusations of arrogance made by some sections, Tagore responded, "We are humble and polite that is why they are speaking and we are keeping mum."
The BJP secured a huge victory with 48 seats in the 70-member House, while the AAP, which had won 62 assembly constituencies in 2020 and 67 in 2015, saw its number drop to 22. For the third time, the Congress failed to win any seats in the Delhi assembly elections.
As members of the opposition INDIA group, the AAP and the Congress ran together in Delhi for the Lok Sabha elections last year. But in the assembly polls, they faced off against one another.
