Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Convenor Arvind Kejriwal will campaign for I.N.D.I.A bloc candidates in Maharashtra. Kejriwal will campaign on assembly seats where AAP has a volunteer base and where the MVA candidates don't have a controversial background.
The Aam Aadmi Party will not contest the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra. Instead, party chief Arvind Kejriwal will campaign for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said on Saturday. The MVA coalition comprises Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT), Sharad Pawar's NCP-SP, and the Congress.
"In the Maharashtra elections, the party's National Convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, will campaign for the MVA candidates. Aam Aadmi Party will not contest elections in Maharashtra," Singh, who is a Rajya Sabha MP, said on X.
INDIA bloc
AAP and the MVA constituents are part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), which was formed before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls to take on the BJP. AAP entered into an alliance with the Congress, the largest constituent of the INDIA bloc, in Delhi, Gujarat and Haryana for the Lok Sabha polls. However, it contested on its own in Punjab. It also contested the recent assembly elections in Haryana independently and failed to open its account. The Congress is also a constituent of the MVA in Maharashtra and a part of the ruling alliance in Jharkhand.
Earlier party sources said, "Shiv Sena-UBT and NCP-SP have approached Aam Aadmi Party for Arvind Kejriwal to campaign in Maharashtra. Kejriwal is likely to campaign on assembly seats where AAP has a volunteer base and where the MVA candidates don't have a controversial background. In addition to Kejriwal, other senior AAP leaders will also campaign for MVA candidates,".
Kejriwal is also likely to campaign for JMM candidates in Jharkhand.
"Arvind Kejriwal will campaign on the seats, where his appeal would translate into votes for INDIA Bloc, especially on urban seats,".
Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in March this year, in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, came out of Tihar Jail last month, after being granted bail by the Supreme Court. After coming out, in a surprising move, the AAP national convenor announced his resignation from the CM post, and said he won't take the position, till the public gives him the "certificate of honesty" by making AAP victorious again in the assembly elections next year.
The Maharashtra assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with counting for all 288 constituencies set for November 23. The Assembly elections in Jharkhand will be held in two phases on November 13 and November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23.
In Jharkhand, the BJP will be contesting the upcoming assembly elections in alliance with the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), Janata Dal (United) (JD-U), and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP). On the other hand, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Rashtriya Janata Dal, and the Congress are contesting the election together.
