Abhijay Raj Vaish, Pune
The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have agreed to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Delhi, settling for a four-three seat sharing plan as part of the INDIA alliance. The decision got a green light on Thursday after several rounds of discussions between the heads of both parties. The seven seats will be shared, with the Congress contesting in three constituencies and the AAP getting four.
“Yes, the seat-sharing agreement has been reached between both parties. We will disclose which seat will be contested by a candidate from which party shortly,” said a senior AAP leader. The probable arrangement of constituencies will allow the AAP to contest elections in New Delhi, West Delhi, South Delhi, and North West. At the same time, the Congress may get representation in Chandni Chowk, East Delhi, and North East Delhi Lok Sabha seats. All of these seats are currently held by the Bharatiya Janata Party, which came to power in 2014. The Congress currently has no Lok Sabha MP or MLA from Delhi.
The AAP leadership had earlier said it would only give one seat to the Congress based on their track record in the previous elections. Both parties are also in talks for an arrangement in Gujarat, Haryana, and Goa, whereas the AAP has decided to fare alone in Punjab and Chandigarh. The decision came after the two parties converged at the Congress General Secretary’s home to resolve the issue. It came as a welcome decision for the INDIA bloc after the Congress-AAP’s inability to find cohesion in Punjab. The India bloc has also faced exits from Trinamool Congress head Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal and Nitish Kumar returning to the NDA alliance in Bihar.
AAP minister Atishi Marlena refused to comment on the details of the negotiations and said that “the talks are on, and we are hopeful of closing the deal.”
The Congress has also worked out a deal with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, where the two agreed to a 63-17 seat-sharing plan on Wednesday. The deal was earlier unlikely amid tensions with the SP Supremo, Akhilesh Yadav, claiming not to participate in the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra carried out by Rahul Gandhi.