AAP's Political Affairs Committee to Discuss Party Candidates for LS Polls, Alliance with Congress

The AAP’s political affairs committee (PAC) will in its meeting on Tuesday discuss the party candidates for the Lok Sabha polls and prospects of alliance with the Congress, said Delhi unit convener Gopal Rai on Monday.

When asked whether the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will enter into an alliance with the Congress in Delhi, Rai told PTI Videos, “The talks are on. There is a need of a quick decision on it.” A question mark has been put on the alliance with AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal addressing a gathering in Punjab’s Taran Taran on Sunday, claiming that the people of Delhi have decided to give all the seven Lok Sabha seats to his party.

Kejriwal had earlier said the AAP will declare its candidates on all the 13 parliamentary seats in Punjab and the Chandigarh seat in next 10 to 15 days.

Rai said the PAC meeting will review all aspects of the Lok Sabha elections, including the alliance, candidates in different states and poll preparations.

When asked about Kejriwal’s claim that the party will win all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, AAP national spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “I understand that people are so harassed by the BJP that if elections are held right now, AAP has the capacity to defeat the BJP and win all the 7 seats in Delhi.” He, however, said that talks for alliance with the Congress are still on.

“I cannot reveal anything till there is an outcome of the discussions,” he told PTI Videos.

The AAP leaders earlier said that talks over alliance with the Congress in Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat and Goa were underway.

However, the AAP that is a constituent of opposition bloc Indian National Developmental Alliance (INDIA) has unilaterally declared three candidates on Guwahati, Sonitpur and Dibrugarh Lok Sabha seats in Assam.

Kejriwal had during his Gujarat visit last month declared Chaitar Vasava as AAP’s candidate from Bharuch seat in the state.

Despite the aggressive stance taken by Kejriwal, insiders in both the Congress and the AAP expect an alliance between two parties in Delhi to challenge the might of the BJP in the national capital.

The BJP candidates registered back to back massive victories in 2014 and 2019 polls winning all the seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi.

Interestingly, the BJP candidates on all the seven seats polled more votes than the combined tally of both the Congress and the AAP.