The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress, it appears, will not be in alliance in Punjab for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, as AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday that the two parties had ‘mutually agreed’ to contest separately in the border state.
Kejriwal, however, also said there was no ‘bad blood’ between them over the issue.
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“In Punjab, the Congress and AAP have mutually agreed to contest the polls separately. There is no hostility over this,” NDTV quoted the Delhi chief minister as saying.
An alliance between the two sides in Delhi, however, was still being discussed, he further stated.
“We are in talks with the Congress over an alliance in Delhi. We are discussing seat-sharing arrangements. The BJP will have it easy if there is no alliance,” the CM stressed.
Kejriwal made the remarks at the residence of lawyer and senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who hosted a lunch at his home. His remarks also come in the backdrop of a bitter war-of-words between the parties over a possible partnership in Punjab, which has 13 Lok Sabha seats and where the Aam Aadmi Party is in power.
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Delhi, on the other hand, has seven parliamentary seats. In both 2014 and 2019 general elections, all seven went to the BJP. Also, like Punjab, the national capital is governed by the AAP.
{{/usCountry}}Delhi, on the other hand, has seven parliamentary seats. In both 2014 and 2019 general elections, all seven went to the BJP. Also, like Punjab, the national capital is governed by the AAP.
{{/usCountry}}Additionally, in Punjab and Delhi, the Congress was ousted from power by the AAP. They are also among more than two dozen constituents of the opposition INDIA bloc, formed to take on the ruling BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, and deny it a third consecutive term at the Centre.