Despite the show of unanimity and semblance of unity anti-BJP parties displayed on recent occasions such as Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)’s protests seeking the removal of education minister in July and the current demand for Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, there is little scope for a real and wider unity among them.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of Arvind Kejriwal, which rules Punjab and is the main Opposition in Delhi Assembly, said on Wednesday, September 30, that it is not part of the Opposition INDIA bloc and is therefore not attending the meeting called to discuss matters dealing with Election Commission of India (ECI).
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On Wednesday, senior leaders of the INDIA bloc met in New Delhi to finalise an action plan for a joint agitation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) that has been conducted by Election Commission of India. Among those at the meeting are Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretaries Jairam Ramesh and K C Venugopal, the Trinamool Congress (TMC)’s Mamata Banerjee, and leaders from parties such as the Samajwadi Party, CPI, CPI(M), NCP(SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT).
It was on July 18, 2025 that AAP had announced its exit from the INDIA bloc. AAP MP Sanjay Singh said the alliance was formed specifically for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
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While clarifying on why AAP was not attending the NDA meeting on ECI, party MP Sanjay Singh said his party supported the impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. AAP, he said, is fighting against what he termed as the shortcomings of Election Commission of India “from the streets to Parliament”.
“There is no question of joining the meeting. Aam Aadmi Party is not part of the INDIA bloc,” Singh said. He also appealed for support to a planned CJP protest on the Election Commission issue, saying electoral rights concern the entire population of the country.
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As many as 27 lakh voters in West Bengal had been deprived of their voting rights, Singh said, adding that the time being taken to complete hearings before the tribunals is unduly long.
Singh claimed that 93 per cent of people among the 1.26 lakh cases heard so far were found eligible, and alleged that completing the entire process could take 12 years. He lamented the deletion of names from electoral rolls, saying 13.37 crore names had been removed across the country.
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The changes made to Form 6, which is used for inclusion of names in electoral rolls, were “illegal” and “unconstitutional”, said Singh.
