AAP trying to split the minority vote: Delhi Congress

Giving the first public indication of the growing nervousness in the Congress party over the looming threat of losing the Muslim vote in the Capital, the state unit on Thursday made a big show of welcoming former AAP member Maulana Ashrafi and his band of supporters into the party.

Call it desperation or mere posturing, the Congress party is losing no opportunity to keep the minority vote from shifting to the Aam Admi Party in Lok Sabha polls, following the party's emergence as the main challenger to the BJP in the assembly elections.

A file photo of Delhi Congress leader Arvinder Singh lovely. Ibnlive

Speaking to reporters, former Congress MLA Mukesh Sharma said, "Kejriwal is trying to split the minority vote. Aam Aadmi Party's prominent Muslim leader Maulana Ashrafi, who had played a key role in the Anna Hazare agitation, has joined the Congress Party with a large number of his followers today. His support will have positive impact in the North East, East and South Delhi Lok Sabha constituencies where there is a sizable Muslim population."

Trying hard to live down the impression that it is a sinking ship, the party has been making a lot of noise lately of leaders, especially from the Muslim community, joining the party.

Speaking at the event to welcome the latest set of Muslim leaders, state unit chief Arvinder Singh Lovely said, "From AAP, the Peace Party, lots of leaders from the minority community are coming back to the Congress. They realise that the Congress party alone can protect their rights."

He adds, "The BJP keeps saying there is a wave in their favour. If that is so, why are people joining the Congress party with every passing day. In every parliamentary seat, local workers and leaders from other parties are joining us. A councillor from New Delhi, the general secretary of the bar council and a senior Valmiki leader – have all have joined the Congress in the last couple of weeks. I'm not talking just of local level leaders, these are senior leaders who are coming to us."

Having underestimated AAP and its reach once before to their peril, the Congress party is not making the same mistake again.
"Of course, we underestimated them. That was our fault. But now we are approaching everybody and we are hoping people will see through AAP's false promises," said a member of the newly-formed campaign committee.

Spelling out the party's campaign strategy for the Lok Sabha polls, Lovely said every Lok Sabha constituency was being approached differently.

"We have started Parliamentary-wise and assembly-wise campaigns. Every Lok Sabha constituency has different campaign strategy. In New Delhi, we have started campaigning through FM radio and SMS. In the North East constituency, we are using more traditional methods. In South Delhi, our candidate is going to different villages and holding choupals. In the North West our candidate is meeting residents of resettlement colonies on a one-to-one basis. In East Delhi, Sandeep Dikshit is going door-to-door and holding corner meetings. And so each candidate is working according to the demands of his constituency. In the next couple of days, our campaign committee will be meeting to come up strategic central campaign for the state."