Congress leaders talk to AAP for Delhi tie-up

NEW DELHI: The

talks

on an

alliance

in Delhi for the

Lok Sabha elections

picked up pace on Friday with two

senior Congress leaders

carrying out

hectic parleys

with Aam Aadmi Party to decide the contours of such a

tie-up

. Sources said Congress president Rahul Gandhi instructed party treasurer Ahmed Patel and leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad to work out the modalities of the alliance with AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal.

Sources said the leaders of the two parties held discussions on Thursday, though there was no official confirmation about this.

“The discussions have been going on at the highest level. We have not reached a consensus on the number of seats the two parties will contest but hope to get an outcome soon,” said a Congress leader, requesting anonymity. “The possibility of stitching up an alliance in Haryana is also on the anvil.”

Though there initially were strong reservations about a tie-up, the discussions re-started last week after Rahul Gandhi met Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit, the three working presidents and former DPCC presidents. The telephonic survey of booth-level workers, conducted through Shakti platform earlier this month, also revealed a significant number supporting the idea of an alliance with AAP, a party leader disclosed.

Sources added that UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi too had meetings with Dikshit and some Delhi leaders a few days ago to understand the mood of the workers and the party’s actual position on the ground.

Despite the renewed attempt at a pact, one of the working presidents, Rajesh Lilothia, issued a statement on Friday evening saying that Rahul Gandhi had already clarified at a booth worker’s convention that the party would contest all the seven seats in Delhi.

An agency report added Kejriwal said on Friday that his party was capable of winning all seven seats in Delhi on its own but needed the support of Congress in Haryana. “I don't understand why they are not forming an alliance with us in Haryana,” Kejriwal told a TV channel.