What vision can a ‘dead’ Congress give when it cannot choose its president: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

Positioning AAP as an alternative voice in the Opposition, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said a "vacuum" exists at the national level, wondering what vision a "dead" Congress can give to the country when it cannot choose its own chief.

However, the AAP supremo said it would be presumptuous on his part to say that AAP will fill the gap at the national level, as his party is "very small" and only time will tell whether it can fill that vacuum.

In an interview with DH, the three-time chief minister said it was "unfortunate" that wherever a Congress government was formed, they ended up "selling" their MLAs to other parties.

Asked whether he sees any political challenge to the Narendra Modi-led BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he said, "Congress is dead at the national level and it is no longer an alternative. At a time when the country is going through an unprecedented time, Congress is busy in internal fights."

"People’s trust has been severely eroded and they are feeling cheated. What vision can a party give to the country when it can't choose its own chief? But 2024 is still long away and I have faith that the people of this country will come up with an alternative," Kejriwal, whose party decimated Congress in Delhi, said.

On why AAP targeted Congress and not the BJP when the former was fighting to save its government from BJP's poaching attempts, he said they targeted both the parties because one was "selling" and the other was "buying MLAs".

Kejriwal said efforts were on to topple governments. First it happened in Goa followed by Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

"There is a vacuum at the national level. The main Opposition party, Congress, is dead, and there seems to be no alternative to BJP. People are happy with neither the BJP, nor Congress. In such a scenario, an alternative should emerge in the country," he said.

Kejriwal said the two top national parties were fighting in Rajasthan when China was creating trouble at the borders and Covid-19 was spreading across the country. “At this time, the central government and BJP should have taken the entire country together to fight coronavirus and deal with China. Instead, they are doing dirty politics and horse-trading of MLAs," he said.

On AAP's prospects, he said his party was small but people have faith in them, as they had shown that one can with honest funding and on the track record of governance. "Due to the work done in health, education, electricity, water and now Covid management, people have hope in AAP and want it to rise up to that role. Only time will tell if AAP will be able to fill that vacuum," he said.