Cong, AAP appoint coordinators to address Delhi LS campaign gaps

The meeting comes against the backdrop of multiple resignations of Delhi Congress leaders, citing opposition to the Congress-AAP alliance. Following Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh Lovely’s resignation on April 27, three former Delhi Congress MLAs, including former Delhi minister Raj Kumar Chauhan, resigned

Bidding to intensify their joint campaign for the Lok Sabha polls, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress decided to appoint 14 ground-level coordinators, seven from each party, to address gaps in campaigning and take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), senior leaders of both parties said.

An AAP campaign in central Delhi led by Sanjay Singh, for the Lok Sabha polls. (Sanchit Khanna/HT File)

The decision was taken in a meeting between leaders of both parties on April 30 to discuss their alliance in Delhi and address gaps in coordination.

A Congress leader, who did not want to be named, said the coordinators will facilitate political rallies of candidates and star campaigners from both parties, ensure crowd mobilisation; support candidates in door-to-door campaigns, as well as public meetings, spread the message of the INDIA bloc to voters and booth management, among others.

Delhi Congress leader Anil Bhardwaj said observers will be appointed to ensure that the election campaigns are held in a smooth and effective manner. “A meeting of the coordination committee will be held on Friday to draw up a road map for joint campaigns of the INDIA bloc in all seven Lok Sabha seats. The details of the number of joint campaigns will also be discussed. The programmes will include public meetings and roadshows in all seven Lok Sabha constituencies, jointly organised by the INDIA bloc,” Bharadwaj said.

AAP, in a statement, said its leader Sandeep Pathak on Thursday constituted the coordination committee and handed over the overall responsibility to MCD in-charge and MLA Durgesh Pathak for Capital.

“The responsibility of coordination in New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency has been given to Rajesh Gupta; West Delhi coordination will be looked after by Naresh Balyan; Dinesh Mohaniya will be the coordinator for South Delhi. Pawan Sharma has been appointed coordinator for the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency; coordination of North West Delhi constituency will be taken care of by Mukesh Ahlawat; Sanjeev Jha will be coordinator for the North East Delhi constituency and Dilip Pandey has been appointed coordinator for East Delhi,” the AAP said.

The coordination meeting comes against the backdrop of multiple resignations of Delhi Congress leaders, citing opposition to the Congress-AAP alliance. Following Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh Lovely’s resignation on April 27, three former Delhi Congress MLAs, including former Delhi minister Raj Kumar Chauhan, resigned in the past week.

Another Delhi Congress functionary, Om Prakash Bidhuri, resigned from the Congress on Thursday, opposing the AAP-Congress alliance. “There were many reasons behind my decision to resign from the Congress but the primary reason was the alliance between the AAP and Congress. Many Congress workers are unhappy with the alliance because the AAP came into politics levelling allegations against the Congress. I have expressed the feelings of the Congress workers by resigning,” said Bidhuri.

Delhi Congress’s interim president Devender Yadav said: “In the coordination meeting, we discussed the ongoing election campaign, which is in full swing for all seven seats. Some gaps were identified in the meeting, due to which it was decided that both the Congress and AAP will appoint seven coordinators each for the seven Lok Sabha constituencies. They will be coordinating with candidates and parties for electioneering and election-related issues, such as public meetings, door-to-door campaigning and booth level meetings.”

The Congress and AAP have tied up for the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi. According to the seat sharing arrangement, the AAP is contesting the New Delhi, East Delhi, West Delhi and South Delhi seats, and the Congress contesting the Chandni Chowk, North East and South Delhi seats.

AAP leader Durgesh Pathak, who attended the coordination meeting, said coordinators will facilitate meetings between INDIA bloc candidates with party functionaries, including former MLAs and district-level leaders, to strengthen their ongoing campaign. Pathak said they will also supervise the booth-level campaigns.

A member of the alliance, who did not wish to be identified, said coordinators will make optimum use of political resources and personnel to make the pitch for the INDIA bloc.

To be sure, the Congress and the AAP have tied up only for the polls in Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Chandigarh and Goa. In Punjab, the two parties are contesting elections against each other, because the AAP is the ruling party and the Congress is the main opposition.

Amid the slew of resignations, the parties continue to put up a united front. “We need to cooperate with each other to save the country from the dictatorship of the Modi government. That is why both parties are ready and united. There was a positive discussion between both the parties. This time in the Lok Sabha elections, INDIA bloc will win and the BJP will lose. INDIA bloc will win all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi,” AAP general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak said.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said: “The resignation of Delhi Congress leaders, one after another, has exposed the chasm between the AAP and the Congress at the ground level. In reality, the AAP is not supporting the Congress and the Congress is not supporting the AAP at the ground level. The two parties are going to lose all seven seats. BJP will win all the seats.”