Congress’ Support for Kejriwal Due to Rahul Gandhi’s Anti-Hate Politics

Congress sources said that the grand old party was also mobilising support among the other opposition parties for a joint INDIA bloc statement condemning Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest.

New Delhi:The Congress support for Delhi Chief Minister and AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal stems from two key considerations - Rahul Gandhi's focus on 'Mohabbat Ki Dukan' politics and the fact that the grand old party has to helm the INDIA bloc.

According to Congress insiders, these are the reasons why both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi came out in support of Kejriwal and slammed the Centre over misuse of probe agencies. Rahul, who spoke to Kejriwal’s family over the phone, may visit them to express solidarity with the alliance partner, said the insiders.

The party insiders further said that the grand old party was also mobilising support among the other opposition parties for a joint INDIA bloc statement condemning Kejriwal’s arrest. Though the Delhi Congress leaders were against having a pact with the AAP, the party high command opted for it keeping in mind the bigger challenge of taking on the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls together.

Old timers recalled how Kejriwal used activist Anna Hazare’s 2011 anti-corruption protests in the national capital as a springboard for his political ambitions and dented the three-term Sheila Dikshit government by leveling false corruption charges against her.

"Times change and political positions also change accordingly. It is true that several Delhi Congress leaders were against the alliance with AAP but once the high command has taken a policy decision, everyone in the party is supporting the move," former MP JP Agarwal told ETV Bharat.

"The bigger challenge for both the Congress and the AAP is to defeat the BJP together. It is time to forgive and forget. Our support for AAP is to reflect Rahul Gandhi's 'anti-hatred' politics that he highlighted through his two nationwide yatras. Besides, we are the largest party in the opposition grouping and must act accordingly. Misuse of probe agencies to target rivals is not good for democracy," he said.

According to party insiders, support for Kejriwal at this crucial juncture will provide moral high ground to Rahul Gandhi, who has been ridiculed by the AAP leader in the past, as well to the grand old party which is often accused of pursuing the big brother approach.

Old timers recalled how Kejriwal used to level false charges against former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other senior Congress leaders including Kapil Sibal and P Chidambaram but the grand old party still supported the AAP leader in 2013.

"That support for the Kejriwal government cost us dear. We had eight MLAs in Delhi in 2013 but later came down to zero in the Delhi Assembly. The AAP took away our traditional vote bank in Delhi. The same thing happened in Punjab where a lot of our leaders are being targeted by the ruling AAP," said a senior All India Congress Committee (AICC) functionary.

However, Congress veteran Agarwal played down the past bickering and pointed out that the political stand of parties can change with time to deal with the current challenges.

"Such political repositioning is also happening within the NDA. The Akali Dal parted ways with the BJP over farmers issue but we are hearing the two may come together again in Punjab. Similarly, we are hearing that the BJP and the BJD may come together in Odisha," said Agarwal.

"The BJP used to target several of our senior leaders over corruption but today they are in the ruling party and hold key constitutional posts. We are just following alliance dharma," AICC secretary Abhishek Dutt told ETV Bharat.