NEW DELHI: The Congress-AAP talks for a possible alliance in Haryana assembly elections seems to have hit a roadblock. The two parties, who are allies at the national level and had contested the Lok Sabha elections together under the INDIA bloc, were exploring a “win-win alliance” for the state elections also. However, the two parties seem to have failed to agree on a seat-sharing formula amid reports that AAP wants to contest 10 assembly seats but the Congress is not ready to give more than 7.
“The talks are on the verge of collapse and AAP is planning to contest 50 out of the 90 assembly seats in the state. The party may announce its first list on Sunday,” news agency PTI reported quoting AAP sources.
The Congress had already made it clear that it would give very small number of seats to AAP. “It will be a very small number, in single digit,” senior Congress leader Deeepak Babaria had said when asked about the number of seats the party was ready to give to Arvind Kejriwal‘s party. Babaria, who is the party’s incharge for Haryana, had also set a two-day deadline for the talks on Wednesday.
The Congress is upbeat about its prospects in the assembly elections after the grand old party managed an impressive show in Lok Sabha elections and is not willing to part with too many assembly seats to allies. In fact, the state Congress leaders were not very keen on the alliance and had initiated discussions for tie-up only after Rahul Gandhi asked them to explore the possibility of contesting Haryana state elections under the banner of INDIA bloc. The Congress is already facing the problem of plenty and is under pressure of ticket-seekers. There are several claimants within the party and also many state BJP leaders are making a beeline to join the grand old party. The Congress got a major boost today with wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat joining the party. It is likely that they may also be fielded by the party.
The AAP, on the other hand, had announced to contest on all the 90 seats in the state and is not willing to settle for a single-digit share. After two successive victories in Delhi and a massive mandate in Punjab, Arvind Kejriwal’s party is confident on making good gains in neighbouring Haryana. Sources in the AAP have claimed that several “disgruntled” leaders of the BJP and the Congress were ready to join the party in Haryana.
With both parties unwilling to make compromises, it is very likely that the two INDIA bloc partners will end up contesting against each other. Will the BJP gain from this division of votes? Well, we will have to wait till October 8 to find that out.
“The talks are on the verge of collapse and AAP is planning to contest 50 out of the 90 assembly seats in the state. The party may announce its first list on Sunday,” news agency PTI reported quoting AAP sources.
The Congress had already made it clear that it would give very small number of seats to AAP. “It will be a very small number, in single digit,” senior Congress leader Deeepak Babaria had said when asked about the number of seats the party was ready to give to Arvind Kejriwal‘s party. Babaria, who is the party’s incharge for Haryana, had also set a two-day deadline for the talks on Wednesday.
The Congress is upbeat about its prospects in the assembly elections after the grand old party managed an impressive show in Lok Sabha elections and is not willing to part with too many assembly seats to allies. In fact, the state Congress leaders were not very keen on the alliance and had initiated discussions for tie-up only after Rahul Gandhi asked them to explore the possibility of contesting Haryana state elections under the banner of INDIA bloc. The Congress is already facing the problem of plenty and is under pressure of ticket-seekers. There are several claimants within the party and also many state BJP leaders are making a beeline to join the grand old party. The Congress got a major boost today with wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat joining the party. It is likely that they may also be fielded by the party.
The AAP, on the other hand, had announced to contest on all the 90 seats in the state and is not willing to settle for a single-digit share. After two successive victories in Delhi and a massive mandate in Punjab, Arvind Kejriwal’s party is confident on making good gains in neighbouring Haryana. Sources in the AAP have claimed that several “disgruntled” leaders of the BJP and the Congress were ready to join the party in Haryana.
With both parties unwilling to make compromises, it is very likely that the two INDIA bloc partners will end up contesting against each other. Will the BJP gain from this division of votes? Well, we will have to wait till October 8 to find that out.
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