Key Difference: AAP stands for ‘Aam Aadmi Party’. Congress refers to Indian national Congress. Both are Indian political parties. Congress was formed in 1885, whereas AAP was formed in 2012. Congress has already gained a status of an established party, whereas AAP is trying to establish itself in the political scenario. 

AAP stands for Aam Aadmi Party meaning ‘common man’. Arvind Kejrival is the prominent leader of this party. Earlier, he was involved in ‘India Against Corruption’ movement under the leadership of Anna Hazare. Arvind Kejriwal thought that the voices of the movement can only be heard after active participation in the politics. Anna and Arvind went on different directions as Anna did not support the notion. AAP was formed by Arvind Kejrival and the party contested in Delhi 2013 legislative assembly election.

AAP succeeded to claim the title of second largest party. They managed to get the votes based on their manifesto which highlighted the issues related to electricity bill, water bill, Lokpal bill, etc. It formed the government with support from the Indian National Congress. Arvind Kejriwal was designated as the Chief Minister of Delhi. The party has decided to contest in 2014 Loksabha elections. The party ideologies are based on Swaraj and anti corruption notions. Arvind Kejrival has also written a book ‘Swaraj’, in which he had penned down his views on how to attain self rule.

Congress or the Indian National Congress is a major political party of India. It can be associated with both pre and post independence era. The organization got established in the year 1885. Allan Octavian Hume, Dadabhai Naoroji, Dinshaw Wacha, Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee, Surendranath Banerjee, Monomohun Ghose, Mahadev Govind Ranade and William Wedderburn laid the foundation of the party.

During 1907, under the leadership of Gopal Krishna Gokale the party focused on the self rule. The organization proved itself in the provincial elections of 1937. After the partition, Congress governed India under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru; his daughter Indira Gandhi carried the legacy and became prime minister in 1966. It tasted success in 1971 and 1972 state elections.  After Indira Gandhi's death, the party was led by her son Rajiv Gandhi. Narasimha Rao emerged as the leader after the death of Rajiv Gandhi.  In 1998, the Congress elected Sonia Gandhi (widow of Rajiv Gandhi) as the head of Congress. In 2004, the party took the power and Manmohan Singh was made the prime minister. Congress claims that its social policy is based on the upliftment of all the sections of the society. As of January 2014, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) led by the Indian National Congress has been working as the ruling party after obtaining the majority of seats.

Both the parties are political parties of India. Congress has played a crucial role in the political scenario of India by either forming a government or by sitting in an opponent’s role. AAP is a fresh face for India. AAP claims to work as an anti-corruption tool.

Comparison between Congress and AAP:

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