"INDIA alliance ended in 2024, kept fighting against each other in state polls": Suvendu Adhikari

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], July 20 (ANI): Reacting to the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) decision to withdraw from the INDIA alliance, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and West Bengal Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, stated that the bloc ceased to exist after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and that its constituent parties continued to contest against each other in every state during the elections.
"The INDI alliance was finished in 2024. After they lost in the Lok Sabha elections and PM Modi became the Prime Minister for the third term, that very day, the INDI alliance was finished. They have been fighting against each other in every state during elections..." Adhikari said, speaking to ANI.
His remarks came after AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj clarified that while the party continues to support and raise key Opposition issues, it is no longer formally a part of the INDIA bloc.
Speaking to ANI, Bharadwaj emphasised that even though the party coordinates with other Opposition outfits, it is no longer part of the INDIA alliance.
He said, "We raise all issues of the Opposition. But we are not in the INDIA Alliance. When we contested the Lok Sabha elections, we did seat-sharing. After that, the Delhi elections took place, wherein we did not do any seat-sharing. As of now, we raise all issues of the Opposition. We coordinate with all Opposition parties, including the TMC, SP, and other parties. But we are not in the INDIA Alliance."
AAP and Congress contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections together in Delhi under the INDIA alliance banner. However, the two parties fought separately in the Haryana and Delhi Assembly elections.
On July 16, AAP MP Sanjay Singh also stated that the INDIA bloc was relevant only until the Lok Sabha elections.
"We have clarified our position that the INDIA alliance was there till the Lok Sabha elections. As far as the Parliament is concerned, we have always been opposing all the wrong policies of the government. Currently, the issue for us is the way the homes and shops of people of Bihar, UP and Purvanchal are being bulldozed and destroyed. This is the issue we will raise in Parliament in the context of Delhi," Singh told ANI.
"We said that officially, the Aam Aadmi Party is not with the INDIA alliance as of today. Our alliance was for the Lok Sabha elections..." he added.
The AAP MP further stated that the party will raise the issue of the alleged demolition of jhuggis in Delhi during the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament will be conducted from July 21 to August 21. (ANI)