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“In Punjab, the Congress and AAP have mutually agreed to contest the polls separately. There is no hostility over this,” NDTV quoted the Delhi Chief Minister as saying.
The Delhi Chief Minister was speaking at the residence of senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, whom he visited today on lunch. Kejriwal’s remarks come in the backdrop of a bitter war of words between the two parties, allies in the INDIA bloc, over a possible partnership in Punjab, which has 13 Lok Sabha seats and where the AAP is in power.
Kejriwal further said the party was still in talks with the grand old party to finalise seat-sharing in the national capital.
“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 (between Congress and AAP),” he said.
It is important to note that AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak had Eon February 13 said that the grand old party does not deserve even a single seat in the national capital but they are still offering them one seat keeping the ‘dharma of alliance’.
, “…On merit basis, the Congress party does not deserve even a single seat in Delhi but keeping in mind the ‘dharma of alliance’ we are offering them one seat in Delhi. We propose Congress party to fight on 1 seat and AAP on 6 seats…”, Pathak said.
The AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP said the party wants to contest six seats in Delhi in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and offer just one to the Congress.
It is important to note that the national capital has seven parliamentary seats, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) registered victory over all the seven seats in not only 2014 but also in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann—who ousted Congress from power in the last Assembly election— had announced that the party had decided to contest all the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab alone.
Reacting to Mann’s announcement, Partap Singh Bajwa, one of the Congress’s top leaders in Punjab and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, had ‘thanked’ the state Chief Minister and said this is exactly what the Congress wants.
“There is a difference between Punjab and other states. Here, they (AAP) are in the government and we are the principal opposition. How can both of us get together,” NDTV quoted Bajwa as saying.
“If we get together, the anti-incumbency vote is going to shift, either to the BJP or to the Akali Dal. How can we relinquish our position? Congress is on the comeback train. This way, we will finish our existence. We have to preserve our vote bank and build on it. This is much better for both (Congress and AAP),” the Congress leader had told NDTV.
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Published: 18 Feb 2024, 07:58 PM IST
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