Can Arvind Kejriwal's entry in Haryana derail Congress' plans?

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday made a surprise announcement that he would step down as Chief Minister of Delhi in the next two days. The move is seen as Kejriwal's attempt to revitalise the party, which faced setbacks in the Lok Sabha elections and is witnessing a slide in Punjab. The AAP's image has also taken a hit following corruption charges against senior leaders like Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Satyendar Jain.      

After leaving the chief minister's chair, Kejriwal is expected to go full throttle in Haryana, where the Congress is confident of trouncing the ruling BJP. This may spell some trouble for the Congress as the more AAP gains in Haryana, the more the grand old party may lose.

The AAP, which has some pockets of influence in urban centers and districts bordering Punjab and Delhi, may eat into anti-BJP votes, which would otherwise have gone to Congress. To arrest this possible split, Rahul Gandhi wanted an alliance with the AAP in Haryana. The AAP and Congress - both part of the INDIA bloc - had a few rounds of talks for the alliance in Haryana, but discussion collapsed over seat-sharing. 

India Today reported that the AAP was demanding 10 seats, but the Congress was ready to give not more than 3. The AAP stuck to its demand for a few key seats such as Kalayat, Pehowa, Jind, Guhla, and Sohna - but the Congress did not relent. In the Lok Sabha elections, in which the AAP contested unsuccessfully from Kurukshetra, Kejriwal's party secured leads in four assembly segments - Shahbad, Pehowa, Guhla, and Kalayat.    

The fears of a split in anti-BJP votes are real for Congress. Sensing this threat, Congress' senior observer for Haryana assembly elections Ajay Maken today appealed to voters to back only the grand old party. "If you vote for any other party, it will benefit the BJP. If anyone wants to vote against BJP, they should vote for Congress, otherwise, it will benefit BJP," he said, adding that the only competition for Congress in Haryana is the BJP. "We want to urge the people of Haryana, that when only BJP and Congress stand face to face in the state." 

The AAP, which is contesting all 90 seats, does not have enough strength to win the election on its own but if it gets some tractions, that would be enough to damage the Congress' prospects on several seats. Not just AAP, the INLD and JJP may also split, to an extent, anti-BJP Jat votes - another core base for the Congress.