Alliance with AAP in Lok Sabha polls was a mistake: Delhi Congress Chief Devender Yadav

Yadav, who was at the helm of the Delhi Congress even at the time of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, told The Indian Express, “Mistakes are made once and are not to be repeated over and over again. By forming an alliance with the AAP in the past, the Congress faced the consequences. There will be no alliance with the AAP or any other party in the future.”

Speaking about its senior leader and five-time MLA from Seelampur, Mateen Ahmed joining the AAP on Sunday, Yadav said “opportunistic people can change loyalties”. Ahmed, who was associated with the Congress for nearly two decades, joined the AAP earlier in the day.

Ahmed, a veteran leader from Northeast Delhi, contested and won five elections from Seelampur, three under the Congress banner. His shift to the ruling AAP follows the recent entry of his son, Zubair Chaudhary, a Congress District President, and his daughter-in-law, Shagufta Chaudhary, who is an MCD councillor. Their move to the AAP occurred about two weeks ago.

Shortly after Zubair and Shagufta’s induction into the AAP, the sitting Seelampur MLA Abdul Rehman resigned as chief of the party’s minority wing.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Shagufta had confirmed that Zubair is expected to be the AAP’s candidate for the Seelampur seat, replacing Rehman. She added their decision to switch parties was influenced by Congress’s unwillingness to ally with the AAP, despite overtures from the ruling party in Delhi.

Devender Yadav, when asked if the defection of party members would alter the Congress’s stance on an alliance with the AAP, firmly dismissed the idea. “People are now hoping for change, and they believe in the Congress,” he said.