‘What’s need for Opposition alliances if…’: Shiv Sena-UBT tears into AAP, Congress post Delhi debacle

An editorial in the Sena (UBT) mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ on Monday slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress for contesting solo in the Delhi Elections 2025. It stated that the AAP and the Congress fighting each other contributed to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) victory in the Delhi Assembly polls.

The Shiv Sena (UBT), the Congress and the AAP are part of the Opposition’s INDIA alliance, which was formed ahead of the Lok Sabha Election 2024. Despite being allies at the national level, the AAP and the Congress contested alone in the Delhi polls. Many political leaders speculated that the AAP and the Congress would have performed better in Delhi had they joined hands.

“In Delhi, both AAP and Congress fought to destroy each other, making things easier for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. If this continues, why even form alliances? Just fight to your heart’s content!” news agency PTI reported while citing the editorial in ‘Saamana’.

‘AAP-Congress fight helped BJP’

The editorial stated that similar disunity among opposition parties had already led to setbacks in Maharashtra (during the 2024 assembly polls that the BJP-led coalition won).

“The loss in Delhi elections is directly affecting the democratic processes in the country. Even in Maharashtra, local Congress leaders had stretched seat-sharing talks [for the assembly polls] till the end and it resulted in portraying a chaotic picture,” it said.

The disunity among opposition parties in Delhi and Maharashtra directly aided the BJP, the Marathi publication said.

“If this is how things are going to be, there is no need to form alliances at all. Just keep fighting among yourselves!” it said.

‘Congress contributed to AAP’s defeat’

Earlier on Saturday, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took a jibe as both the Congress and the AAP were defeated after contesting against each other. “Aur lado aapas mein!!! (Keep on fighting each other),” the National Conference leader had said on X.

Referring to Abdullah’s comments, ‘Saamana’ claimed that the Congress actively contributed to AAP’s defeat in at least 14 seats in Delhi, which could have been avoided.

A similar situation had played out in Haryana (during the assembly polls last year which BJP won), the editorial claimed, and asked whether internal elements within Congress were deliberately undermining Rahul Gandhi’s leadership.

‘Helping autocracy’

The Marathi daily claimed that failing to learn from the Delhi poll results would only strengthen, what it termed as, the “autocratic rule” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

“If no one is going to learn a lesson from the Delhi assembly elections, then such people can earn the credit of helping autocracy to gain power. There will be no need to even take a dip in the Ganga river for doing such noble work,” the Sena (UBT) mouthpiece said sarcastically.

Congress reacts

Congress leader Rashid Alvi contended that if the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party had fought Delhi elections together, the BJP would not have won.

“The Congress high command has to decide if we have to go with our allies or contest elections alone. What has happened in Delhi is a matter of worry for the Muslims in Delhi,” Alvi said.

He said the recent election in Delhi “has forced them to think that BJP has won the election because of us [Congress]. If we have to defeat BJP, we have to respect all parties in the INDIA alliance and also strengthen the alliance and fight elections unitedly…”

Delhi Election Results 2025

The BJP swept aside the AAP, winning 48 of the 70 seats in the just-concluded Delhi assembly polls. The AAP secured only 22 seats, with top leaders like Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia suffering defeats. The Congress drew a blank in the national capital for the third time in a row.