Congress leaves a crack open for AAP in Haryana, but window closing fast

Sources say dispute over not number of seats but which constituencies AAP wants, as state Congress holds strong against tie-up

Haryana Assembly Elections 2024, Haryana Assembly polls, Haryana Congress, Aam Aadmi Party AAP, Rahul Gandhi, Indian express news, current affairs

While the Congress’s list of 32 Friday left out those seats said to be sought by the AAP – thus signalling that the Congress has not shut the doors entirely – a leader said it was up to “Rahul Gandhi to take the call”.

SEAT-SHARING talks between the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Haryana are said to be nearing a “dead end”, with the Congress state leadership not willing to concede the specific seats sought by the AAP. Sources said the deadlock is not over the number of seats but rather the choice of seats.

The seats the AAP is said to be seeking include Pehowa, Kalayat and Jind.

Sources in the AAP said the party was ready to contest as many as 50 seats if the alliance doesn’t come through, and could release a candidate list as early as Sunday.

Congress leaders said the party was willing to give four-five seats, mostly urban, but that the issue was not the number of seats but the constituencies the AAP wants, which the Congress considers its “prime seats”.

According to AAP sources, the party is seeking nine out of the 90 Assembly seats in the state, while the Congress was in favour of five to seven.

“If the alliance does not come through, we will go it alone in 50 seats which we have identified as crucial to build the party from the ground up in the state,” a senior AAP leader said.

Jatin Anand

Jatin Anand is an Assistant Editor with the national political bureau of The Indian Express. Over the last 16 years, he has covered governance, politics, bureaucracy, crime, traffic, intelligence, the Election Commission of India and Urban Development among other beats. He is an English (Literature) graduate from Zakir Husain Delhi College, DU & specialised in Print at the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai. He tweets @jatinpaul ... Read More