What does Aam Aadmi Party’s exit mean for INDIA bloc?

As the opposition INDIA bloc is set to hold a key meeting ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament, the Aam Aadmi Party officially announced its exit from the grouping on Friday.

 

The AAP blamed the Congress for its decision and stated that the party would contest the upcoming Bihar elections independently.

 

"The AAP has cleared its stand. The INDIA bloc was for the (2024) Lok Sabha polls. We fought the Delhi and Haryana Assembly polls on our own. We are going to fight the Bihar election solo. We fought the bypolls in Punjab and Gujarat all by ourselves. The AAP is not part of the INDIA (bloc)," Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said.

 

Political analysts, however, feel that the AAP’s decision to stay away from the bloc hints at the growing dissent among the allies. 

 

The AAP had contested the Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and Haryana during the 2024 general elections in alliance with the Congress. However, they contested separately the 2025 Delhi assembly elections held in February, with the leaders attacking each other during campaigning.

 

The massive loss in the Delhi Assembly elections is believed to have prompted the Kejriwal-led party to revise its political strategy and approach.

 

The exit might now help the AAP focus only on the states where it holds sway. The party's immediate target would be to retain power in Punjab in the 2027 assembly elections.

 

Singh said the Congress failed to ensure that the INDIA bloc parties stayed united and took steps to further its agenda. 

 

“The Congress is the biggest party of the bloc. But did it play a role (in ensuring opposition unity)?,” he asked.

 

"It is not a child's play. Did they hold any meetings after the Lok Sabha polls? Was there any initiative to expand the INDIA bloc? Sometimes they criticise Akhilesh Yadav, sometimes Uddhav Thackeray and sometimes Mamata Banerjee. The INDIA bloc should have been united,” Singh said.

 

The INDIA bloc was formed in 2023 to counter the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at the national level.

 

The Congress, however, sought to downplay the AAP’s exit from the grouping. Party leader Partap Singh Bajwa said Kejriwal’s party walking out of the bloc would only strengthen the alliance as it would remove the ambiguity.

 

“AAP was always playing a double game. Kejriwal has publicly appealed to Congress workers to defect to AAP, exposing his intentions. Rather than fighting the BJP, AAP consistently targeted Congress to weaken the larger opposition space,” Bajwa, the leader of the opposition in Punjab, was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.

 

“With AAP out, INDIA is now free to focus on real, committed partners and present a united, clear alternative to the BJP,” he said.

India