NEW DELHI: Amidst speculation that
AAP
and
Congress were giving finishing touches to an alliance in Delhi for the
Lok Sabha elections
, the former floated a new formula on Friday. AAP made it known that it would leave as many seats in Delhi for Congress as the latter cedes to it in
Haryana. The party added that a decision on Punjab will be taken separately later.
Indicating how sensitive the issue of forming an alliance has become, the Congress general secretary in charge of Delhi, P C Chacko, on Friday denied meeting any AAP leader on Thursday evening. AAP MP Sanjay Singh is said to have had a meeting with the Delhi Congress leadership but they failed to arrive at a consensus. While Congress pressed hard for three of the seven
Lok Sabha
seats in Delhi, AAP was willing to concede only two, said reports.
Complete coverage: Lok Sabha elections“We have not discussed any matter with them (AAP) so far,” Chacko told TOI on Friday. “The in-principle decision has to be taken by the Congress president and only after that will we go into details,” he said. Reacting to AAP’s claim that Congress had agreed to amend its manifesto to include the promise of full statehood to Delhi, which had paved the way for a tie-up, Chacko said: “We never discussed statehood or seats with anybody (in AAP). We have very clearly mentioned in the manifesto our opinion on this issue. I don’t think they had any discussion with any Congress leader on the matter.”
Sources said Congress had offered only one seat to AAP in Haryana. The newly-floated Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) may also be a part of the anti-BJP alliance in Haryana. AAP’s latest stance of a quid pro quo in Haryana and Delhi is being seen by some in Congress as a tactic to drive a hard bargain. An AAP source said that the number of seats to be shared was more important than the choice of constituencies. “The decision (on allocation of seats) won’t be that tough,” a source said.
Congress claims the upper hand in Haryana though. “AAP is not as strong a force in Haryana as JJP. AAP is demanding two seats, which we are not ready to give,” a Congress leader said. Sources in AAP said the party would not give more than one seat to Congress in Delhi if the latter gave it just one in Haryana. However, sources in Congress claimed that it had been communicated to AAP leaders that the party would not accept anything less than three seats in Delhi.
Congress’s formula for Delhi is based on a 4:3 ratio, calculated on the basis of seats won by Congress and AAP in the 2017 municipal elections. AAP had won 49 seats and Congress 31 after getting 26% and 21% vote share, respectively. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, AAP polled 33% of the votes whereas Congress got 15%. Put together, the vote share of Congress and AAP was 48%, two percentage points more than the BJP’s 46%.
AAP argues that since Congress did not win a single seat in Delhi in 2014 and drew a blank in the 2015 assembly elections too — when AAP won 67 out of 70 seats — it should settle for only two seats.
The Haryana unit of Congress is reportedly more interested in an alliance with JJP — a breakaway faction of Indian National Lok Dal — launched last year by Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala. Delhi chief minister
Arvind Kejriwal had recently proposed an alliance involving AAP-Congress and JJP in that state.
AAP has already announced candidates for the seven Delhi constituencies.