In a swipe at the Congress for holding talks with election strategist Prashant Kishor, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday described the grand old party as a ‘dead horse’ and pitched AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal as the ‘only challenger’ to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
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“The Congress cannot give an alternative to the country. Only Arvind Kejriwal can challenge PM Narendra Modi and the BJP. Congress is like a dead horse, there is no point in flagging a dead horse,” Raghav Chadha, AAP Rajya Sabha MP and spokesperson, told news agency ANI, when asked to opine on Saturday’s meeting at Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s residence, attended, among others, by Prashant Kishor.
In recent days, buoyed by its victory in Punjab, where it pushed the Congress out of power, the Aam Aadmi Party has proclaimed that it, and not the Sonia Gandhi-led outfit, is the national alternative to the BJP, and that Arvind Kejriwal, and not Rahul Gandhi, is the prime challenger to PM Modi who, in 2024, is likely to seek a third straight term in office.
{{/usCountry}}In recent days, buoyed by its victory in Punjab, where it pushed the Congress out of power, the Aam Aadmi Party has proclaimed that it, and not the Sonia Gandhi-led outfit, is the national alternative to the BJP, and that Arvind Kejriwal, and not Rahul Gandhi, is the prime challenger to PM Modi who, in 2024, is likely to seek a third straight term in office.
{{/usCountry}}The AAP, which was formed in 2012, now has governments in two states, Delhi and Punjab, the same number as the Congress, which came into existence in 1885, and, at present, has chief ministers in only Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. The Kejriwal-headed party, which contested the recently-held assembly elections in BJP-ruled Goa and Uttarakhand, is also likely to make foray in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, both of which have BJP governments and will go to polls in late 2022.
The BJP, Congress and the AAP are the only political parties with governments in at least two states.
Meanwhile, according to senior Congress leader KC Venugopal, Kishor, in today’s meeting, made a ‘detailed presentation’ on a strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.