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Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Congress remains divided over alliance with AAP in Delhi
Congress leaders said differences over alliance with AAP in Delhi were visible in the party meeting with Rahul Gandhi. A section was in favour of the alliance, saying that the Congress will lose all seven seats in Delhi if they the party did not partner with the AAP.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi met senior leaders from party’s Delhi unit again on Monday to ask their opinion on a possible alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the state for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, as confusion continued within the party leadership over the partnership.
Gandhi had met Delhi Congress leaders earlier this month too when the majority of the leaders, including Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit, had expressed “strong disapproval” for a seat sharing arrangement with the AAP for the seven Lok Sabha segments in the national capital.
On Monday too, senior leaders Dikshit, JP Agarwal, Yoganand Shastri, and three working presidents Haroon Yusuf, Devender Yadav and Rajesh Lilothia opposed an alliance with the AAP.
While former Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Ajay Maken and AICC in-charge of Delhi PC Chacko stuck to their stand of favouring a tie-up, former state Congress presidents Arvinder Singh Lovely and Subhash Chopra changed their stand in favour of the alliance with the AAP.
Another former Delhi Congress president Tajdar Babar, who did not attend the last meeting, also spoke in favour of the alliance but considering her age and poor health, her opinion was not counted, party leaders said.
Chacko also handed over signed letters by 12 district presidents and party representatives in the three municipal corporations supporting the alliance.
“We have conveyed our stand to Rahul ji. He will take a decision soon. Yes, the stand on the alliance was still divided but we have been able to get more people in favour of a tie-up,” Chacko said.
Party leaders said differences were visible in the meeting with the section in favour of the alliance saying that the Congress will lose all seven seats in Delhi if they the party did not partner with the AAP.
“Differences are bound to happen but we have conveyed our opinion to Rahulji and we will abide by his final decision,” said Devender Yadav, one of the DPCC working presidents.
While the Congress remained indecisive, AAP leaders said that they were focussing on campaign meetings as the polling date is nearing.
“Congress is busy conducing meetings its leaders and AAP is busy with public meetings. The country’s future is at stake but the Congress is confused. It looks like they are not serious about Delhi. AAP is serious and, therefore, it is demanding full statehood for Delhi. Our seven candidates have done a lot of ground work,” said AAP’s Delhi in-charge Gopal Rai.
Senior Congress leaders said they are hoping that Gandhi will make a final announcement on the alliance by Wednesday.
