Punjab out, AAP-Congress say Lok Sabha poll alliance on track in Delhi

Punjab out, AAP-Congress say Lok Sabha poll alliance on track in Delhi

Hours after Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal announced that his party would go it alone in Punjab, both the AAP and Congress maintained that talks regarding their alliance for the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi were on track.

Congress sources told The Indian Express that the party had prepared a panel of several potential leaders to be fielded from each of the city’s seven Lok Sabha seats; AAP sources said talks around the alliance were “positive” and it was waiting for the Congress to get back to it regarding its seat-sharing proposal for Delhi and other states.

After Kejriwal’s announcement, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Saturday evening convened a meeting with senior leaders from its Delhi unit over poll preparations in the city. The meeting comes on the heels of a workers’ convention that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is scheduled to address in Ludhiana’s Samrala.

Sources said while Punjab may now be more or less out of the alliance equation, both parties were likely to settle on a 4-3 seat-sharing arrangement in Delhi.

“Screening, selection of potential candidates is almost complete. The potential choice for a seat will remain the same irrespective of an alliance; if a particular seat is given to AAP, potential candidates chosen for it won’t be allowed to contest from another seat,” said a senior Congress leader.

According to sources, the Congress was considering leaders including Hari Shankar Gupta, Alka Lamba, Mangat Ram Singhal, Jai Prakash Agarwal from Chandni Chowk and Sandeep Dikshit, Naseeb Singh, Anil Chaudhary from East Delhi.

From Northeast Delhi, leaders under consideration are Mateen Ahmed, Bhisham Sharma, Vipin Sharma. Ramesh Kumar, Chattar Singh and Vijay Singh Lochav were among the probables from South Delhi.

Mukesh Sharma and Devender Yadav were being considered from West Delhi, and Ajay Maken and Abhishek Dutt from New Delhi. The reserved Northwest Delhi constituency had the highest number of potential candidates under consideration including Krishna Tirath, Rajesh Lilothia, Udit Raj, Raj Kumar Chauhan, Jai Kishan, and Surender Kumar.

In a formal response on the future of the INDIA alliance following Kejriwal’s announcement, AAP said, “… On other states, talks are ongoing. Overall, we should move fast on seat sharing as we hardly have time for preparation… We must conclude all talks and start campaigning.”

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