Fissures Surface in Congress, AAP Alliance During First Joint Rally

New Delhi: Fissures in the alliance between the Congress and the AAP are beginning to appear. The missing invite, till now, for Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for the first rally of Rahul Gandhi in the national capital on May 18 is the latest in a series of episodes that indicate all is not well between the Congress and the AAP. Mr Gandhi is going to hold a public meeting at the Ashok Vihar Ram Leela Maidan in Delhi.

The Congress leadership seems to be keeping a distance since Mr Kejriwal was released from jail. When the Supreme Court granted interim bail to the AAP chief, most of the Opposition party leaders welcomed his release, but no statement was issued by Mr Gandhi.

Also, Mr Kejriwal did not attend the joint press conference with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on May 15 in Lucknow. He instead held a press briefing with Mr Yadav on May 16.

After Mr Kejriwal's arrest, a rally was held at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan in which Congress Parliamentary Party leader Sonia Gandhi, Mr Kharge, Mr Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had dubbed his arrest "the murder of democracy". However, when Mr Kejriwal came out of jail, no public statement from the top brass of Congress came.

Interestingly, in the last couple of days, all three Congress candidates in Delhi -- Kanhaiyya Kumar, Udit Raj and J.P. Agarwal -- have met both the Delhi chief minister and his wife Sunita Kejriwal to seek support. Mr Kejriwal has also held roadshows in all three constituencies where the Congress candidates are contesting. But as of now, the Congress leadership seems to be keeping him at arm's length.