No support to AAP :Congress

"No way! We would never support Aam Aadmi Party as we feel that AAP and BJP are two sides of the same coin. They have all been together earlier. How long will it take for Kejriwal to pack up and join them?"  Congress leader Ajay Maken, who is leading the party's campaign said on Thursday.

"We would prefer a third election and go back to the people asking for a stable government," he told NDTV.

The Congress had extended support to the AAP following a fractured mandate in the 2013 assembly elections that witnessed BJP claiming the most number of seats followed by AAP. The Congress finished a distant third and helped AAP to form  government. However,Kerjriwal, who became chief minister, quit within two months.

This time pre-poll surveys indicate at a close fight between BJP and AAP that might result in a hung assembly once again. Though not considered a favourite by psephologists, Congress clams a much better showing this time.

The BJP, which is now in power at the centre, has made Delhi its bull's eye and brought in former top cop Kiran Bedi as a potential chief minister to counter Kejriwal, whose 'crusade' against corruption touches the chord in the public.

Perceived for long as straightforward and honest for her deeds and acts during her service period, Bedi, a former IPS officer, too carries a high public image.

The reason the Congress treats  BJP and AAP on the same plain might be the fact that both these parties are pinning hopes on its electoral decline. While the BJP has given a war cry for 'Congress Mukt Bharat,' the flourish AAP has recorded over the past few years is marked by erosion in the Congress vote bank. The party has also gone on record saying it expects the vote share of Congress to dip to 10 per cent-a thing that will benefit Kejriwal's party.

Perhaps pointing at that factor Maken said, "They deliberately don't want to talk about the Congress as they both very well know that the Congress is the dark horse in Delhi like Kejriwal was in the last elections. No one gave him 28 seats last time. Both Kiran Bedi and Kejriwal only talk about each other as the people of Delhi don't matter."

Recently the Congress has launched a booklet titled 'U-Turns of Kejriwal' highlighting the failures of Arvind Kejriwal, who still commands considerable popularity in the capital.

Though Maken has been leading the party from front after former chief minister Sheila Dixit declined to be in the fray, Congress has not projected anybody as its chief ministerial candidate.

The Delhi polls will be held on February 7 and the results will be declared on the 10th.