'Kejriwal's Acquittal Is BJP-AAP Fixed Match For Electoral Gain In 2027 Polls': Congress
Congress accused AAP of working as BJP's 'B Team' to divide Opposition votes and fights against the grand old party while helping the saffron party.
Published : March 1, 2026 at 7:24 PM IST
New Delhi: The Congress is miffed over AAP projecting Arvind Kejriwal as a potential Prime Minister candidate, days after the former Delhi Chief Minister was acquitted by a court of corruption charges related to the liquor policy.
The party has termed Kejriwal’s acquittal a 'fixed match' between the AAP and the BJP in order to dent the grand old party ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections in Punjab, Goa and Gujarat.
In 2022, the BJP was able to win Gujarat and Goa polls but it was AAP which replaced the Congress in Punjab, riding on Kejriwal’s 2020 win in Delhi Assembly elections. In 2013, Kejriwal had defeated former Congress CM Sheila Dikshit over corruption plank.
Congress alleged that in the past, AAP's presence in Gujarat and Goa dented the grand old party by dividing the Opposition votes. In the 2022 Gujarat polls, AAP took away 13 percent votes and five seats from the Congress which could win just 17/182 seats.
The grand old party reiterated BJP's 'B Team’ charge at the AAP soon after a Delhi court acquitted Kejriwal and other senior leaders of his party, a few days ago.
Interestingly, the alleged liquor scam consistently flagged by both the BJP and the Congress had led to the AAP's defeat in the 2025 Delhi Assembly polls and gave the saffron party a chance to rule the national capital after over 25 years.
The grand old party was also miffed with the AAP as Kejriwal started targeting former Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi over his earlier corruption allegations soon after his acquittal.
Congress insiders said Sonia Gandhi had attended an Opposition rally in Delhi to show solidarity with Kejriwal’s wife Sunita when he was in jail but instead of being thankful the former chief minister was back to his petty political games.
Congress insiders said that when Rahul Gandhi had formed the INDIA bloc to take on the NDA in 2023, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge had played a role in letting in AAP into the grouping. The insiders further said that Kejriwal who cried in front of TV cameras after his acquittal should have shown remorse over the allegations that he had earlier made against former CM Sheila Dikshit, former PM Manmohan Singh besides the Gandhis, that could not be proved.
“They have no right to target the Gandhis who backed Kejriwal when he was in jail. His acquittal is a fixed match. The people have realised BJP's game of using central agencies for its electoral benefit. A probe against our senior leader P Chidambaram has been revived to target the Congress in the Tamil Nadu elections. Kejriwal has been acquitted in the liquor scam due to lack of evidence with an eye on the Gujarat, Goa and Punjab elections in 2027. But the biggest court is the court of the people, where Kejriwal has already been proven guilty. Despite serious allegations of corruption, he is trying to mislead the public,” Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav told ETV Bharat.
Congress insiders said after losing Delhi to BJP in 2025 Assembly polls, Kejriwal had been spending most of his time in Punjab to salvage the AAP government headed by CM Bhagwant Mann.
The insiders further said the former CM was rattled by the attack of Congress chief Kharge and Rahul Gandhi on the AAP government at a rally in Barnala on Saturday. Kharge had taken a dig at him saying there was no need for Kejriwal to cry and if he was innocent the people would respond accordingly.
“Our leader has around 32 cases listed against him as part of BJP's witch-hunt but he has never cried in public like Kejriwal. Our leader is a fighter and takes on the BJP against all odds,” AICC functionary Chandan Yadav told ETV Bharat.
“When Kejriwal went to jail, the entire Congress and the Gandhi family stood with his wife Sunita. Now, when he has been acquitted of corruption charges, the AAP is spewing venom against that same Gandhi family. They can't understand that our leaders never held positions as CMs, PMs, or ministers of any state, so no corruption charges could possibly be levelled against them. The BJP lodged false cases against our leaders but couldn't succeed. The trials are ongoing. Statements from the AAP show that it fights against Congress while helping the BJP and that is why its leaders were acquitted,” he said.
Congress insiders said over the past months, Kejriwal had been visiting Gujarat to revive his party but the AAP would not have much impact in the 2027 elections.
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