Good Luck To Everyone…" Says Mamata Banerjee When Asked About AAP-Congress Fallout Ahead of Delhi Polls

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday avoided making any direct comments on Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) suggestion that other parties in the INDIA alliance should remove Congress from the bloc following the fallout between the two parties ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections. AAP claimed that Congress was working at the behest of the BJP after the grand old party leveled charges of corruption against the AAP government in Delhi.

Banerjee, when asked about the issue during a government press conference, claimed she had respect for all political parties and wished everyone good luck. "I have great respect for all political parties. I wish everyone good luck. I wish all a very good New Year. I wish them a happy and sound journey," Banerjee said.

However, it was Mamata Banerjee herself who had stirred a fresh storm within the alliance just two weeks ago when she claimed that she would be ready to lead the INDIA alliance, provided everyone else had agreed. Her remarks were seen as an attempt to challenge Congress’ supremacy within the bloc, especially after Congress’ poor performance in both Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections. Banerjee’s offer to lead the alliance had received a warm response from several other leaders in the bloc, including Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Yadav.
“Mamata Banerjee is a seasoned and well-established leader, and she is well within her rights to make such a claim, regardless of whether Congress appreciates it or not,” Lalu Yadav had quipped.

Throughout the winter session, Trinamool Congress (TMC) had avoided attending opposition meetings convened by Congress. In fact, the TMC had even blamed Congress, along with the BJP, for the parliamentary logjam, claiming that Congress’ focus on the Adani "US indictment" issue was overshadowing other important issues, such as price rise and the ongoing crisis in Manipur.

In what could be seen as a significant jolt to the INDIA alliance, AAP is now considering pushing for Congress' expulsion. “We are giving 24 hours to Congress to take action against Ajay Maken for calling our leader anti-national. If no action is taken, we will urge the INDIA bloc to expel Congress from the alliance,” said AAP MP Sanjay Singh in response to Congress leader Ajay Maken’s remarks, where he called former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal “anti-national.”

Tensions between the two parties escalated after the Delhi government's Women and Child Development (WCD) department issued a clarification regarding AAP’s "Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana." While AAP had announced the scheme, claiming it would provide Rs 2,100 to women in Delhi, the WCD department contradicted this claim, stating that no such scheme had been officially notified and warned that anyone collecting personal details in the name of the scheme was committing fraud. This led to Congress accusing AAP of illegally collecting data for electoral gain. In response, Youth Congress filed a formal complaint against Kejriwal, and Maken demanded that AAP provide a "white paper" on the scheme. He also called Kejriwal a “fraud.”

“AAP came to power riding on their anti-corruption crusade, but in all these years, they have not set up a Janlokpal in Delhi. If there is one word to describe former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, it would be ‘Farziwal’ (fraud). If anyone is the king of fraud in the entire country, it is Kejriwal, and that is why we have come here with a white paper on the Kejriwal government and also on the BJP government at the Centre,” Maken said on Wednesday.​