AAP Leader Accuses Congress of Sabotaging Alliance Candidate in Haryana

In a startling allegation, senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Anurag Dhanda has accused prominent Congress leaders of failing to support the INDIA bloc candidate, AAP's Sushil Gupta, in the recent Lok Sabha elections for the Kurukshetra seat. This allegation has stirred up controversy within the opposition alliance. 

Congress Loyalty Questioned

Dhanda, the AAP's state senior vice-president, expressed his suspicion over the Congress's loyalty to the INDIA bloc. "It cannot be a coincidence that the INDIA bloc candidate lost in Assembly constituencies where Congress has strong leaders and legislators," he alleged during a media interaction. Dhanda claimed that despite an anti-BJP wave, the alliance could not win the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat due to the lack of support from Congress heavyweights. 

Dissecting Assembly-wise Performance

To substantiate his claim, Dhanda pointed out specific Assembly segments where the INDIA bloc candidate faced significant losses. "The alliance candidate lost by 17,000 votes in the Assembly segment where Congress Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala lives and had campaigned," he said. Similarly, in Thanesar, where Congress leader Ashok Arora had narrowly lost in the previous Assembly elections, the alliance candidate lost by nearly 18,000 votes. 

Dhanda contrasted these losses with the victories secured in constituencies like Guhla, Kalayat, Pehowa, and Shahabad, where the Congress did not have strong leaders. He expressed his intent to review the results with workers to determine the reasons behind the losses, as inputs from local workers raise doubts about the actions of senior Congress leaders.

AAP's Emerging Influence in Haryana

Despite the setback, Dhanda highlighted AAP's growing influence in Haryana. He claimed that AAP had emerged as the third political force in the state, surpassing the INLD, JJP, and BSP in terms of vote share. "The combined total of these three parties is 5,05,040 votes, while AAP, which contested only one seat in Kurukshetra, received 5,13,000 votes, surpassing the combined votes of the three parties," he said. 

Dhanda further stated that while the Congress won four Lok Sabha seats and the BJP won five, AAP won in four Assembly segments without securing a Lok Sabha seat. "This means, without AAP, no party has a majority. If AAP had won the Kurukshetra seat, it would have brought about a storm that would blow away all the old political parties. So, a conspiracy was hatched against AAP," he alleged.

Distancing from Allegations

However, in a surprising move, the AAP state president and the Kurukshetra candidate of the INDIA bloc, Sushil Gupta, distanced himself from Dhanda's statement, saying it was his personal view and not the party's official stance. This apparent division within the AAP ranks has added another layer of complexity to the political landscape in Haryana.

As the dust settles on the Lok Sabha elections, the allegations and counter-allegations among opposition parties in Haryana have set the stage for potential rifts and realignments in the run-up to the upcoming Assembly elections.