The Aam Aadmi Party will support the incoming National Conference government in Jammu and Kashmir, Arvind Kejriwal's outfit has said. A letter of support has been given - from the party's lone MLA - Mehraj Malik of the Doda constituency - to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
One more seat in the NC's corner will not change Chief Minister-elect Omar Abdullah's fortunes; direct support from four independents means he has a majority of 46 in the 90-member House. But support - to the NC and not its alliance with the Congress - underlines the latter's slide in status.
The NC-Congress alliance bucked exit poll predictions to win the J&K election.
The NC won 42 of the former state's 90 Assembly seats but it was the Congress' dire performance - winning just six seats compared to 12 in the last election - that made headlines.
The Congress' return led to fierce criticism from allies, particularly after a dismal show in the Haryana election. It also emphasised its precarious position as INDIA bloc head.
Bloc member Shiv Sena (UBT) offered a scathing review of the Congress' Haryana horror, calling out the party's Delhi HQ for failing to reign in state leader Bhupinder Hooda and, significantly, not sharing seats with allies - either AAP or Samajwadi Party.
READ | "Arrogant, Overconfident": Allies Twist Knife On Congress' Haryana Loss
Failure to do so, the Maharashtra party fumed, may have cost the Congress a Haryana election it was supposed to win.That criticism came with the Maharashtra election - for which the Sena (UBT), the Congress, and Sharad Pawar's NCP faction are expected to contest together - due later this year.
The AAP's extension of support to the National Conference - and not the INDIA bloc - has also been seen as another Congress ally's jab over the party's failure to reach seat-share deals.
READ | Infighting To Jat Focus: 5 Factors Behind Congress's Haryana Shock
The two parties - pushed together by Rahul Gandhi - held several rounds of talks for the Haryana election, but no deal was made, with a recalcitrant Bhupinder Hooda being blamed.
After the Haryana and J&K election results were announced, AAP MP Raghav Chadha, who had been tasked with leading his party's talks with the Congress, posted a pointed message on X.
Mr Chadha posted a small poem in Hindi that, roughly translated, wonders what would have happened had the two parties managed to strike a deal.
At least one other INDIA bloc ally - Bengal's ruling Trinamool - also had harsh words for the Congress' "attitude" during seat-share talks. Those followed Mamata Banerjee's criticism from last year.
For its part, the Congress has said it will hold a detailed review of both election results. Party boss Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and other senior leaders met in Delhi Thursday.
Speaking after the meeting, Ajay Maken said multiple topics had been discussed, including infighting and factionalism in Haryana and the allegations against the Election Commission.
READ | Infighting, Alliances, EVMs In Focus As Congress Reviews Haryana Loss
Sources said the party realises things have to change for the Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections, and that Mr Kharge had already met the former's Chief Minister, Hemant Soren.
Like the Sena (UBT), Mr Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is a member of the INDIA bloc.
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