Congress-AAP alliance may happen only with Haryana on the table

According to sources, AAP had told Congress on Thursday that an alliance in Delhi alone was not acceptable to the leadership and Haryana would have to be put on the table for discussion as well.

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Sheila Dikshit and CM Avind Kejriwal. (File)

A seat-sharing formula for both Delhi and Haryana is being discussed by leaders of Congress and Aam Aadmi Party, sources said Friday.

The development comes a day after AICC Delhi in-charge P C Chacko and AAP MP Sanjay Singh met to discuss the possibility of a pre-poll alliance between the two parties — the first meeting between leaders of the parties since Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Congress president Rahul Gandhi in February.

At that meeting, talks had gone poorly, with Rahul telling Singh that no alliance looked possible with the Delhi unit sorely against it, it is learnt.

According to sources, AAP had told Congress on Thursday that an alliance in Delhi alone was not acceptable to the leadership and Haryana would have to be put on the table for discussion as well. Both parties, sources said, were ready to say no to an alliance in Punjab, where AAP is the primary opposition in the state Assembly.

Both Delhi and Haryana go to polls on May 12.

“While no meetings were held today, the proposals made by each were discussed in intra-party meetings. AAP had told Congress that they were ready to offer it two seats in Delhi and wanted at least two in Haryana. The Congress is, however, adamant that it wants three seats out of seven in Delhi and is not sure if it wants to give away two out of 10 seats in Haryana,” a source said.

Thursday’s meeting was held after a series of efforts by pro-alliance leaders of both parties.

“The Congress said it wanted to field candidates in New Delhi, Chandni Chowk and Northwest Delhi. The last constituency is where there’s a difference in opinion. AAP’s internal surveys show that Guggan Singh Ranga, the candidate announced from the constituency, is a very popular leader with mass appeal,” an AAP leader said.

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While Congress has not announced candidates on any seat yet, it has been holding a series of candidate selection meetings for the past week.

Sources said Ajay Maken could be the party’s pick from New Delhi and Kapil Sibal from Chandni Chowk.

Former Delhi mayor and former Lok Sabha MP Anita Arya’s name is being discussed for Northwest Delhi.