The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has officially announced that it will not contest in the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections. AAP MP Sanjay Singh made the announcement on social media platform X, confirming that the party's National Convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, will focus on campaigning for the candidates of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition instead.
Singh posted, ?In the Maharashtra elections, the party's National Convenor @ArvindKejriwal ji will campaign for the MVA candidates. @AamAadmiParty will not contest elections in Maharashtra.? The MVA coalition, consisting of the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction led by Sharad Pawar, and Uddhav Thackeray?s Shiv Sena (UBT), has decided to allocate 85 seats each among the three coalition partners.
According to sources from PTI, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (SP) approached AAP to secure Kejriwal?s support in their campaigns. In addition to Maharashtra, Kejriwal is expected to lend his support to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) candidates in Jharkhand?s assembly election. The MVA coalition will be up against the ruling Mahayuti alliance, which includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath Shinde?s Shiv Sena faction, and Ajit Pawar's NCP faction.
Maharashtra?s election, scheduled for November 20, will see the state?s 288-member assembly filled in a single phase, while Jharkhand?s assembly will vote in two phases on November 13 and 20. Counting for both elections will occur on November 23.
The AAP, alongside the MVA constituents, is a member of the INDIA bloc. Although the AAP has sought alliances in past elections, it has faced challenges in securing seats outside its stronghold in Delhi. AAP previously contested Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and Haryana with the Congress but failed to secure a win, and solo contests in Haryana and other states met similar outcomes. However, in Jammu and Kashmir?s local elections, AAP?s Mehraj Malik managed to secure the Doda seat, marking the party?s first win in the region.
Reflecting on previous Maharashtra assembly elections, the BJP led with 105 seats in 2019, while Shiv Sena won 56, and Congress took 44. In 2014, BJP secured 122 seats, Shiv Sena 63, and Congress 42. As the Maharashtra assembly election nears, AAP?s decision to refrain from contesting may allow for a more united front among INDIA bloc allies against the Mahayuti alliance.
