In a significant move ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, the Samajwadi Party (SP) has announced its support for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal will lead a joint roadshow in the Rithala constituency on January 30, marking a high-profile campaign collaboration.
This alliance comes as other key INDIA bloc members, including the Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), have also extended their backing to AAP in Delhi. Alongside Akhilesh Yadav, several SP leaders, including Kairana MP Iqra Hasan, are set to campaign for AAP candidates.
Notably, while AAP and Congress contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections together in Delhi as part of the INDIA alliance, they are going head-to-head in the upcoming assembly elections. Despite this, Akhilesh Yadav has affirmed the INDIA alliance remains intact, stating, "It was decided that wherever a regional party is strong, the alliance would extend its support."
The Delhi Assembly elections, scheduled for February 5, are expected to be a tightly contested affair. In the 2020 polls, AAP secured a resounding victory with 62 out of 70 seats, leaving the BJP with just eight and Congress with none.
As campaigning intensifies, AAP aims to maintain its dominance in the capital, buoyed by the support of regional allies. The votes will be counted on February 8, deciding the fate of Delhi’s political landscape.