TMC MP Derek O'Brien said the Congress and AAP rift in Punjab will not help the BJP. He noted that the two parties are just fighting a local contest. "In all this, the BJP have nothing to fake smile about," he said. Both parties are preparing for the 2027 elections.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien on Saturday sought to contain the political fallout of the escalating Congress-Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) confrontation in Punjab, maintaining that electoral competition between the two parties in the state would not alter their respective positions in the wider opposition battle against the BJP. In a post on X, O'Brien, who is also the TMC's national joint secretary, said the Congress and AAP were engaged in a direct political contest in Punjab and their attacks against each other were part of that rivalry. He, however, maintained that the BJP should not view the exchanges as a reason to celebrate.
"In Punjab, it's Congress versus AAP, fighting it out fair and square. So it is natural the two will come hard at each other. In all this, the BJP have nothing to fake smile about. All Opposition parties fighting the BJP know our roles. All good," he wrote. His intervention comes against the backdrop of increasingly acrimonious exchanges between the Congress and AAP as both parties prepare for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. The latest confrontation was triggered by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's November 4 rally in Sangrur, where he accused the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government of failing to curb the drug menace in Punjab.
Gandhi also alleged that the state's administration was effectively being controlled from Delhi under the influence of AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal. Taking aim at Mann, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha further alleged that the Punjab chief minister appeared to be under the influence of alcohol during parliamentary proceedings. "If you truly want to fight the menace of substance abuse, your Chief Minister cannot be under the influence every single evening," Gandhi said while addressing the Congress's 'Insaaf Rally'. The allegations drew a sharp response from AAP leaders, who accused the Congress of resorting to personal attacks rather than discussing the performance of the Punjab government.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh defended the Mann administration, asserting that the party had delivered on its commitments and would return to power in the state. "Under the leadership of Bhagwant Mann ji, the Aam Aadmi Party government has delivered for the people of Punjab, and we will form the government there once again with a resounding, thumping majority," Singh said. The verbal confrontation escalated further after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the AAP government of corruption and failing to tackle drug abuse. He also alleged that money from Punjab was being transferred to Delhi.
"The Punjab government is a government of drugs and corruption. I have not seen such a corrupt government in my 60 years of public life. Money is being sent from here to Delhi. They are the BJP's B-team," Kharge had said. Hitting back, Singh accused the Congress of being the BJP's 'B-team', arguing that the party had repeatedly lost elections in several states and was making baseless allegations against AAP. Meanwhile, AAP on Saturday released its first list of 40 candidates for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. The list features Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann from Dhuri, Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan from Kotkapura and jailed minister Sanjeev Arora from Ludhiana West.
The political contest also highlights the complexities within the Opposition's INDIA bloc. While the TMC remains a constituent of the alliance, AAP has distanced itself from the grouping, with the two parties pursuing separate political strategies.