With Bihar set to go to polls later this year, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal has announced that his party will contest all 243 assembly seats independently, signaling a fresh rift within the INDIA alliance.

"Will Fight Alone in Bihar" — Kejriwal Declares

On his Gujarat visit, Kejriwal told reporters that AAP will not ally with any party in Bihar and will fight the assembly elections solo. This comes despite AAP having contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as part of the INDIA alliance.

"We are with INDIA for Lok Sabha, but we will contest Bihar assembly elections alone," Kejriwal clarified.

His statement suggests a growing ideological and strategic distance from INDIA bloc partners, especially Congress, which AAP has repeatedly accused of being the "B-team of BJP".

INDIA Bloc Under Pressure After Lok Sabha Results

The Lok Sabha results exposed internal fault lines in the opposition alliance, and Kejriwal’s latest decision is expected to deepen those tensions. Differences over seat sharing and campaign strategy had already surfaced in previous elections, including in Delhi and Punjab.

Political Chessboard in Bihar: Who’s Fighting Whom?

• AAP plans to contest all 243 assembly seats in Bihar—a bold move in a state where it currently has minimal political presence.

• Prashant Kishor’s party also intends to fight across the board, further crowding the opposition space.

• The Congress-RJD alliance is yet to finalize seat-sharing, suggesting continuing friction within the INDIA bloc.

With major players like the BJP-led NDA, Congress-RJD, AAP, and Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj, the Bihar political battlefield is expected to be highly fragmented.

Why This Matters

Kejriwal’s move could:

• Divide opposition votes in key constituencies

• Weaken INDIA’s collective strength against the BJP

• Expand AAP’s national footprint, even at the cost of short-term electoral losses

The Bihar assembly elections are scheduled for late 2025, and as political activity heats up, AAP’s entry could be a disruptive wildcard in an already complex equation.