“No Bad Blood”, AAP & Congress Seal The Deal; Gatbandhan’ in Delhi But Solo in Punjab

Aam Aadmi Party and Congress have reached a consensus over seat sharing for the Lok Sabha elections ahead, claimed sources. While in Delhi the two parties have agreed to go as INDIA alliance but in Punjab they would go solo in all 13 seats.

According a source privy to the alliance talks that happened between AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday afternoon at the residence of Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, in Delhi while AAP would fight in five seats, the rest two have been given to Congress. Both the parties have “mutually agreed” to fight the elections in Delhi as an alliance but not in Punjab. “In Punjab if Congress and AAP go together it will be advantage BJP and their alliance. It’s a calculated call and even Congress realises AAP is better placed to give a fight to both the BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)” said senior AAP leader on condition of anonymity since formal announcement is yet to happen.

Kejriwal, however, stressed that there is no “bad blood” between the two parties since both even after being part of INDIA alliance have decided to fight separately in Punjab. “We are in talks with the Congress over an alliance in Delhi. We are discussing seat-sharing arrangements. The BJP will have it easy if there is no alliance,” the Delhi Chief Minister said while interacting with few journalists at the lunch event hosted by Singhvi where he met with Kharge.

BJP had won all the seven seats in Delhi, both in 2014 and 2019 General elections. This while AAP has been in power in the national capital since 2013. While in 2013 AAP had received outside support from the Congress but in the subsequent elections in 2015 following their fallout with the Congress, AAP won 67 out of 70 assembly seats, limiting BJP to just three and Congress with none.

In both Delhi and Punjab, it was AAP that had wrested power from the Congress in the respective assembly elections. INDIA alliance have come under serious rebuke after JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar did the flip flop and went back to NDA and also after TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee decided to go solo in West Bengal citing differences with the Congress.​