Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced that his party will contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections independently, without forming any alliance — including with the INDIA bloc or the Congress party. The announcement marks a significant shift in AAP’s political strategy as it eyes greater national presence ahead of state elections.
Kejriwal made the declaration during a press conference held in Ahmedabad on Thursday. Emphasizing a decisive break from any alliance politics for state elections, he said, “AAP will fight the Bihar elections alone. The INDIA bloc was only for the Lok Sabha polls. There is no alliance with Congress now.” He further questioned the Congress party’s intentions, alleging that it deliberately contested the Visavadar bypolls in Gujarat to hurt AAP’s prospects.
“The Congress came to defeat us. BJP sent them to divide the votes,” Kejriwal claimed, accusing both major national parties of conspiring against AAP. The charges come in the wake of recent electoral competition in Gujarat where AAP and Congress were pitted against each other despite being part of the same national opposition alliance for the parliamentary elections.
Kejriwal’s statement underscores growing friction within the INDIA bloc, a coalition of opposition parties that came together to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 general elections. However, with the Lok Sabha polls concluded and state elections approaching, alliance dynamics are visibly shifting.
The move to contest independently in Bihar reflects AAP’s ambition to expand its influence beyond Delhi and Punjab. Recent victories in the Visavadar constituency in Gujarat and Ludhiana in Punjab have reportedly reinvigorated the party’s morale after a challenging phase, particularly in Delhi. AAP suffered a political blow earlier this year when it lost administrative control in Delhi, allowing the BJP to reassert itself in the capital after nearly three decades.
“This is not the first time AAP has decided to go it alone,” Kejriwal reminded, referencing previous solo runs in the Delhi Assembly elections where the party has enjoyed significant success. He emphasized that AAP’s strategy is focused on building a self-reliant, corruption-free political alternative that doesn’t rely on traditional power-sharing arrangements.
Although the Election Commission has yet to announce the dates for the Bihar Assembly polls, Kejriwal’s early declaration sets the stage for a multi-cornered contest in the state, traditionally dominated by regional players like RJD, JD(U), and national parties like BJP and Congress.
Kejriwal’s sharp rhetoric and aggressive positioning signal AAP’s intent to carve out an independent space in national and regional politics. Whether the party can translate its ambition into electoral gains in a politically complex state like Bihar remains to be seen. However, the move has already sparked conversations about realignments and rifts within opposition ranks post the Lok Sabha elections.
