"AAP-Congress fought to destroy each other": Sena-UBT, an ally of the Indian bloc, on the Delhi fiasco

The Aam Aadmi Party was swept from power in the nation's capital as the BJP won 48 of the 70 seats in the Delhi assembly election.

Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party's overwhelming victory in the Delhi assembly election of 2025 was a result of the division between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress, the INDIA bloc's partners.

An editorial in "Saamana," the mouthpiece of the Sena UBT party, questioned whether opposition alliances were necessary while their voters were still fighting among themselves rather than against the saffron party.

By winning 48 seats in the election for the 70-member Delhi assembly, the BJP completely overthrew the Arvind Kejriwal-led party in the city.With only 22 seats won, the AAP was soundly defeated. In the meantime, the Congress continued to put on a poor show, failing to win the Delhi assembly election for the third consecutive year.

"In Delhi, both the AAP and the Congress fought to destroy each other, making things easier for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah," the Saamana editorial stated. Why even create partnerships if this keeps happening? Just keep fighting as much as you want!

During the Delhi election campaign, the AAP and Congress had made a number of disparaging remarks against one another.

Similar failures in Haryana and Maharashtra
The BJP-led coalition won the 2024 state assembly elections, causing similar disappointment among opposition parties in Maharashtra as well, it claimed.

In addition, the Marathi daily asserted that the opposition parties would merely reinforce what it called the "autocratic rule" under Modi and Shah if they did not take note of the Delhi election results.

Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, also criticized the AAP and the grand old party for losing after running against one another. The leader of the National Conference wrote in a post X, "Aur lado aapas mein!!!" (Keep on fighting each other).

The editorial went on to say that a similar scenario had occurred in Haryana during the previous year's assembly election, which the BJP also won. It questioned whether Rahul Gandhi's leadership was purposefully weakened by inside Congress members.

"Saamana" also chastised veteran social activist Anna Hazare for his criticism of Arvind Kejriwal, pointing out that the AAP chief's political ascent was initially made possible by the former's own anti-corruption campaign.

Last month, Hazare advised Delhi voters to choose candidates with moral integrity, those who are willing to make sacrifices for the nation, and those who can tolerate insults.

"Hazare said nothing on the suspected corruption in the Modi administration, including the Hindenburg report on the Adani Group and the Rafale deal. Modi's so-called Amritkal is founded solely on corruption and dishonesty. The editorial claimed that he has brought together all the questionable individuals and is in charge of both Maharashtra and the entire nation.

"Remain engaged in combat with each other!"
It added that the country's democratic procedures were directly impacted by the defeat in the Delhi elections. Even in Maharashtra, local circuit Congress officials pushed seat-sharing negotiations until the very end, creating a chaotic scene.

The editorial in the Marathi daily further stated that the saffron party benefited directly from the division among opposition parties in Delhi and Maharashtra.

"There is no need to form alliances at all if this is how things are going to be," the Sena (UBT) spokesman remarked cynically. Just keep fighting among yourself! These individuals can claim credit for assisting authoritarianism in gaining power if no one takes the Delhi assembly elections as a lesson.
Doing such great effort won't even require a dip in the Ganga river."