Amidst indications that the talks between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party to stitch up an alliance for the Assembly elections in Haryana have hit a roadblock, the AAP has sounded a stern warning, saying it can be underestimated by other parties only at their own peril.
AAP’s National General Secretary (Organisation) Sandeep Pathak said his party was fully prepared to contest on every seat in Haryana. “On behalf of AAP volunteers and workers and our leadership, I can say one thing, we are fully prepared. We are waiting for the order from the party. As soon as we get the word ‘Go’, we will announce our list. We are ready to fight on every seat with all our might,” Pathak said at a press conference at the AAP party office. The media briefing was on a separate subject and Pathak was responding to questions on the status of the alliance talks between the Congress and the AAP for the October 5 Assembly elections in Haryana.
Pathak further said that the other parties who underestimate the AAP would regret in the future.
The AAP is learnt to be keen on a tie-up for the Assembly elections in Haryana, a state where it has failed to win a single seat either in the Assembly or in the Lok Sabha despite the attempts it has made since 2014. While the Congress’s central leadership, particularly Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, is pushing for an alliance with INDIA partners in Haryana, the state leaders, including former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his staunch rival, Lok Sabha MP Kumari Selja, are firmly opposed to an alliance with the AAP.
Both Hooda and Selja have maintained that the Congress is capable of winning Haryana on its own. The argument put forth by Haryana Congress leaders before the central leadership is that the alliance with the AAP did not benefit the party in any way in Haryana in the Lok Sabha elections. They have also argued against providing the AAP, which they believe has little presence on the ground in Haryana, an entry point into the state’s politics by allying with it for the state elections.
Rahul is learnt to be in favour of a tie-up with the AAP because he wants to carry forward the sentiment of the INDIA alliance taking on the BJP unitedly. Especially in his capacity as LoP, he does not want the momentum of the alliance in the Lok Sabha polls to fall.
As per sources, while the AAP’s initial demand was for ten seats as part of the alliance, the Congress is ready to part with only around five seats. However, the deadlock is not just related to the number of seats. It is also about specific seats that the AAP has demanded, which the state Congress leaders are not ready to concede.
According to AAP sources, if no resolution is reached, the party could come out with its list of candidates for the Haryana polls as early as Sunday. The party, it is learnt, could announce candidates on 50 seats.