The state’s crackdown on the farmers’ agitation in Punjab has brought the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party face to face, further widening the existing rifts in the India alliance. The Congress has targeted the AAP government in Punjab and the BJP government at the Centre simultaneously. The question is, is this a warning sign for the India alliance, or a new chapter in the political drama?
The police crackdown on farmers’ protests at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders in Punjab on March 19 not only shook the farmers but also dealt a deep blow to the unity of the All India Alliance. The Punjab police used force to end the protests and detained prominent farmer leaders like Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher. All this happened when these leaders were returning from meeting Union ministers in Chandigarh.
The incident has brought the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party face to face, further widening the existing rifts in the alliance. The Congress has targeted the AAP government in Punjab and the BJP government at the Centre simultaneously. The question is, is this a warning sign for the India alliance, or a new chapter in the political drama?
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has called the AAP and the BJP anti-farmer. He said that both the parties, drunk with power, are committing criminal acts against the country’s food producers. Kharge wrote on X, “The country has not forgotten the firing on farmers in Mandsaur during the BJP rule, the trampling of farmers by the son of a minister in the Modi government in Lakhimpur Kheri and the suicide of a Rajasthani farmer at Kejriwal’s rally in 2015.”
Kharge further alleged that “whether it is Modi ji’s MSP promise or the implementation of three black laws by AAP in Delhi, both have betrayed the farmers.” Congress MPs from Punjab also protested in the Parliament complex and accused AAP Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of colluding with the BJP. However, this tension between AAP and Congress has been going on for a long time. But sometimes it increases and sometimes decreases due to electoral compulsions. Despite agreeing on seat sharing in Delhi, Haryana and Gujarat for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the relationship between the two parties deteriorated over time. In the October 2024 Haryana assembly elections, the Congress and AAP could not form an alliance, after which AAP contested the elections alone. The BJP won a surprise victory, and AAP reduced the Congress’s votes in some seats.
AAP had categorically refused to form an alliance with Congress in the February 2025 Delhi assembly elections. Congress leader Ajay Maken had said, “We wanted an alliance, but Kejriwal rejected it.”
The two attacked each other strongly in the Delhi elections. When Rahul Gandhi accused AAP of corruption and ‘sheesh mahal’, AAP included Rahul in the poster of ‘dishonest’ leaders. The result? The BJP came to power in Delhi after 27 years.
There was never any agreement between Congress and AAP in Punjab. The state Congress unit had opposed the alliance with AAP in the Lok Sabha elections. Given the weak position of the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Congress feels that it can wrest power from the AAP in the 2027 assembly elections. Farmers are an important vote bank in Punjab and the Congress is trying to capitalize on this opportunity. Punjab’s Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa recently claimed that 32 AAP MLAs are in touch with him, although the AAP has denied this. Congress General Secretary Bhupesh Baghel recently said that the AAP government is a sinking ship. After the Delhi defeat, the AAP ruled out an alliance with the Congress for the Goa 2027 elections. Atishi said, ‘Congress cannot be trusted.’ But some leaders from both the parties are in favour of an alliance. According to a report in the Indian Express, a Congress leader said, ‘It is not easy to defeat the BJP.’ We lost in Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi. The leadership of both the parties has decided not to form an alliance in the state elections. An AAP leader from Punjab warned, “The BJP stopped at 240 seats in the Lok Sabha because the opposition was united.” If India’s parties divide, we will lose that political magic.
The police’s lathicharge on farmers in Punjab is not only breaking the protest but also shaking the foundation of the India alliance. While the Congress is making it a political weapon, the AAP is busy saving its credibility.
Former Deputy Chief Minister and MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has termed the Punjab government’s arrest and jailing of farmers who were protesting against the central government at Khanauri and Shambhu borders for their demands as an affront to democracy. He claimed that the AAP government in Punjab is now working at the alleged behest of the central government, especially the BJP, and the arrest of farmers is the result of the BJP and AAP’s collusion. Randhawa said, “History is witness that calling a party for talks and then arresting them on the spot is a direct assassination of democracy and the AAP government will have to pay the price for it.” He said that the Congress party will always stand with the farmers and support them for their key demands like minimum support price and loan waiver.
The action against farmers in Punjab has given the Congress an opportunity to attack the AAP.But it is also a threat to the unity of the All India Alliance. While the Congress is hoping to come to power in 2027 with the support of farmers, the AAP is locked in a battle to save its government and fight the BJP. The fight between the two is proving to be beneficial for the BJP, as seen in Delhi and Haryana. Will this alliance be limited to the Lok Sabha only? Or will the lack of unity at the state level further strengthen the BJP? This latest controversy in Punjab shows that the path to the All India Alliance is not easy. If both the parties do not overcome their differences, then the path may be clear for the BJP in Punjab in 2027 and beyond.
