After categorical rejections of the possibility of forming an alliance for the Assembly elections in Haryana by both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, the moves now being made by the two parties to enter into a seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming polls have to do with the idea of taking forward the INDIA alliance in elections wherever possible as also a keenness to ensure that the anti-incumbency votes against the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state do not get split.
The state unit of the Congress has not been keen on forming an alliance with the AAP for the upcoming elections, with its assessment being that the tie-up with the AAP did not make any difference to the Congress’ performance in the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress had contested nine Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, leaving the 10th to the AAP. However, the central leadership of the Congress is keen that the sentiment of unitedly taking on the BJP that brought the opposition parties together for the Lok Sabha elections should not flag.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi is learnt to have nudged the party into a rethink on the issue of an alliance with the AAP and is believed to be extremely keen that the two parties work out a seat-sharing arrangement for the elections in Haryana. It is learnt that the Samajwadi Party and the CPI(M) could also be a part of the INDIA alliance in the assembly elections in the northern state.
If the talks are successful, it will be the INDIA alliance that will take on the BJP in Haryana.
Rahul’s keenness for the alliance to materialise also has to do with his role as the LoP and the onus that is now on him to take the opposition together both within and outside Parliament.
According to sources, the seat sharing talks between the Congress and the AAP are underway. The Congress is ready to give a maximum of seven seats to the AAP, while the latter has demanded one Vidhan Sabha seat in each of the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies, which works out to 10 seats.
Rahul is learnt to have brought up the subject of an alliance with the AAP in the meeting of the Central Election Committee held on Monday evening to finalise the candidates for the October 5 elections. Two rounds of discussions, it is learnt, have already taken place between AICC General Secretary in charge of Organisation K C Venugopal and AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP and senior leader Raghav Chadha.
The Congress won five seats in the Lok Sabha seats, a substantial increase from the zero it had scored in the elections in 2019. The BJP won the other five, while it had swept the state in 2019. This gives the Congress the confidence that it is in the lead in the state elections and on course to make a come back in the state where the BJP has been in power for the last 10 years. However, a question that has been discussed within the party is the possibility of regional players like the JJP and the INLD, which have entered into alliances with the Bhim Sena and the Bahujan Samaj Party for the elections, as also the AAP eating into the anti-incumbency votes and providing the BJP with an advantage in close contests.
Earlier, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul had literally walked the distance to ensure that the party formed an alliance with its INDIA alliance partner, the National Conference, for the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.