New Delhi [India], February 12 : Congress leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said that the public has lost faith in the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress by fighting elections alone in Delhi, has prepared its role for the future.
In a post on X, Gehlot also refuted the claims made by the Aam Aadmi Party that the Congress party played a role in making AAP lose the Delhi elections.
He further affirmed that Congress will play the role of "main opposition" in Delhi and will prepare the background for the upcoming elections.
"The allegations leveled by Aam Aadmi Party against Congress for making them lose in Delhi are completely baseless. In fact, Aam Aadmi Party has made Congress lose in many states where they had no base but contested elections there only with the objective of cutting Congress' votes," he said.
Gehlot mentioned that in Gujarat, Goa, and Uttarakhand where the Congress was in a good position against BJP, AAP by contesting, divided the votes, which led to BJP's subsequent victories.
"In these places, most of the winning or losing candidates of AAP later joined other parties including BJP. That is, they contested the elections only to harm Congress," the Congress leader said.
He emphasized that by fighting the elections alone in Delhi, the Congress has prepared its role for the future.
"I am confident that in the coming days, the Congress will play the role of the main opposition in Delhi and will prepare the background for the upcoming elections. The public has now lost faith in the Aam Aadmi Party," Ashok Gehlot added.
The BJP won a historic mandate in Delhi polls, returning to power in the national capital after 27 years by ousting AAP. It secured a two-thirds majority bagging 48 out of 70 seats, while AAP's tally saw a massive drop to 22 from its previous tally of 62.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said on Monday that if both parties (Congress and AAP) had sat together, held discussion and made compromises, the BJP might not have secured victory in the national capital.
Addressing a press conference, Raut called on Congress to take everyone along in the INDIA bloc.
"Congress is our senior partner in the INDIA bloc, and everyone working in the alliance believes it is the responsibility of the bigger partner to take everyone along. This responsibility was also on AAP, and discussions should have taken place. But the outcome was that AAP lost power, and Congress gained nothing. Had both parties sat together, engaged in dialogue, and made compromises, the BJP might not have secured victory in the manner it did," Raut said.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader also asserted that everybody is responsible for the defeat in Delhi Assembly election.
"Everybody is responsible for this defeat--AAP is just as accountable as Congress. There should be no ego in alliance politics. Congress, as the elder brother in the alliance, must always fulfill its responsibility with patience and maturity," he said.