AAP to go solo in Delhi Assembly elections, no alliance: Gopal Rai

New Delhi: In a pivotal meeting held on Thursday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) decided to escalate efforts to secure the release of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other senior party leaders from jail. The party also resolved to accelerate development projects in the city once the election Model Code of Conduct is lifted.

The meeting was attended by AAP’s top leaders, including National General Secretary (Organisation) Dr. Sandeep Pathak, Rajya Sabha members Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha, and ND Gupta, along with cabinet ministers Gopal Rai, Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Kailash Gahlot, and Imran Hussain, as well as party MLAs.

Addressing the media, AAP Delhi State Convenor and Cabinet minister Gopal Rai emphasised the party’s dual strategy. “On one hand, we will fight against dictatorship, and on the other hand, we will speed up the pace of development work as soon as the election code of conduct is lifted,” he said.

Rai outlined the party’s immediate plans, stating, “On June 8, we will hold a meeting with all AAP councillors, and on June 13 with all workers, and will continue the fight together with the people of Delhi.”

He added that all AAP MLAs would meet with their Assembly workers over the weekend to engage

with the public and resume development activities.

Rai highlighted the unity and resilience of AAP workers amid challenging circumstances. “The BJP wanted to finish AAP by arresting Arvind Kejriwal, but even in these adverse circumstances, our workers remained united.

Our workers fought BJP’s money power and the slogan of 400 plus with rock-solid unity,” he asserted.

He acknowledged the differing voting patterns in Delhi for assembly and Lok Sabha elections, noting, “People of Delhi vote for different parties in assembly and Lok Sabha elections. This time also they repeated the old pattern.” Rai pointed out that despite the adverse conditions, AAP’s performance in the Lok Sabha elections showed improvement compared to 2019. “We fought the Lok Sabha elections with more strength than in 2019, and the results were encouraging,” he said.

Discussing the future strategy, Rai mentioned that the INDIA alliance with Congress was specific to the Lok Sabha elections. “Our alliance is only for Lok Sabha elections, we will fight and win Assembly elections together with the public,” he clarified.

In response to questions about the BJP’s victory in Delhi, Rai noted, “The way the Central government was constantly attacking the rights of Delhi, picked up the elected Chief Minister, Deputy

Chief Minister, Health Minister, and put them in jail, there is hope that the Central Government will reconsider this in accordance with the mandate of the people.”