Former Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the Congress spent nearly ₹46 crore, most of it in cash, to defeat AAP.
| Photo Credit: file photo
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday alleged that the Congress “colluded with the BJP” in the Delhi Assembly election and spent crores of rupees without running any ground campaign to ensure the then ruling party’s defeat. “The manner in which the Congress fought, it seemed that they were not contesting to win, but to ensure the BJP’s victory,” said AAP’s Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj.
Delhi Congress media cell chief Anil Bhardwaj condemned the allegation and said AAP is indulging in the “politics of lies and negativity”.
‘Failed to win a seat’
Addressing a press conference, the senior AAP leader claimed that his party, which was in power in Delhi for 10 years, spent around ₹14 crore, and the BJP spent ₹57 crore in their campaigns for the February 5 poll, while the Congress spent around ₹46.18 crore, most of it in cash, and yet failed to win a single seat.
The former Delhi Minister said that the grand old party received ₹40 crore in cash. However, given the Election Commission’s limit of ₹2,000 on cash donations, tens of thousands of people would have had to donate ₹2,000 each, and for this, a campaign would have had to be run. “But no Congress campaign was visible on the ground,” he said.
“In Bihar, the voters, cadre, and flag-bearers belong to [RJD leader] Tejashwi Yadav, but free marketing is being done for Rahul Gandhi. On the ground, the Congress has no cadre, no polling agents,” the Delhi AAP chief added.
‘Showed AAP’s failures’
The Congress leader said his party fought the poll on every seat and highlighted the “failures of the AAP government”, which led to AAP’s defeat.
Published – September 02, 2025 12:55 am IST
