Will Cong and AAP finally unite for Lok Sabha poll fight in Delhi? Kejriwal replies

The AAP had offered just one seat to the Congress in Delhi, where it is in power since 2015.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said that the alliance between Aam Aadmi Party and INDIA ally Congress for the Lok Sabha elections ‘should have happened’ earlier.

“ Let's see what happens in the next 2-3 days...it has been delayed a lot, it should have happened earlier,” Kejriwal was quoted by ANI as telling reporters.

The Delhi chief minister's remark comes in wake of the Congress and Samajwadi Party announcing seat sharing pact for the Lok Sabha polls. The grand old party will contest on 17 seats in Uttar Pradesh, the state that sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha. The remaining seats will be contested by SP and other allies.

The AAP had offered just one seat to the Congress in Delhi, where it is in power. The party's general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak had said that the Congress does not deserve a single seat in the capital as per its performance.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. (Hindustan Times)

“Congress has zero Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, it has zero seats in the Delhi assembly. Out of 250 wards, the Congress won only nine seats in the (2022) MCD election. Even on a merit basis, the Congress party does not deserve a single seat according to the available data. But only data is not important. As per the alliance dharma and out of respect, we are ready to offer one seat to the Congress," the AAP leader had said.

The Congress, which ruled Delhi for 15 years from 1998 to 2013, was defeated by AAP that made an impressive debut in the assembly election that year. The then chief minister Sheila Dikshit herself lost the election to Kejriwal from New Delhi. Since then, the party does not have a single MLA in the capital.

In the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party won all seven seats in Delhi.

(With ANI inputs)