INDIA bloc partners Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress have reached an agreement to share seats in Delhi, Haryana, Goa, and Gujarat for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. In a joint statement, the parties stated that they have mutually decided not to contest the Punjab elections together.
Addressing media in Delhi, AAP MP Sandeep Pathak said, “The way the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is demolishing all institutions one by one, the way votes are stolen, and the residents of this country are dealing with challenges such as inflation and unemployment, the country now requires an honest and strong alternative. Given that, and with the country's interests in mind, we formed this coalition (AAP-Congress).”
Senior Congress leader Mukul Wasnik stated that while both the AAP and the Congress will run under their respective symbols, they will contest the Lok Sabha elections together.
SEAT SHARING IN DELHI
In Delhi, AAP will be contesting on four seats while Congress will field candidates in three constituencies, according to Wasnik.
“AAP will contest from New Delhi, West Delhi, South Delhi and East Delhi seats, while Congress candidates will fight Chandani Chowk, North East Delhi and North West Delhi constituencies,” said Wasnik.
In the past two Lok Sabha elections, conducted in 2014 and 2019, the BJP won all seven seats in Delhi with a vote percentage of more than 50%.
"We will try to win all seven seats in Delhi this time," Pathak stated in a statement.
“The country requires an honest and forceful alternative. Keeping that in mind, we formed this coalition with the goal of putting the nation's interests ahead of our own. The country is always more important than the party. INDIA would contest this election, rather than Congress contesting from here and AAP contesting from there,” he added.
On the seat-sharing deal with AAP, Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely said, “As a part of INDIA Alliance, we had said earlier too that we will follow the order of high command…We will have a positive result in the time to come.”
SEAT SHARING IN GUJARAT
In Gujarat, the Congress will contest 24 of the 26 Lok Sabha seats, while the AAP will run candidates in two seats: Bharuch and Bhavnagar.
Mumtaz Patel, Congress leader and daughter of legendary party leader late Ahmed Patel, responded to the development by expressing her 'disappointment' with the party cadre for failing to secure the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat in coalition.
“Deeply apologize to our district cadre for not being able to secure the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat in alliance. I share your disappointment. Together, we will regroup to make Congress stronger. We won’t let Ahmed Patel’s 45 years of Legacy go in vain. #bharuchkibeti,” she said in a post on X.
During an earlier press conference, AAP general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak announced the candidates for Bharuch and Bhavnagar as Chaitar Vasva and Umeshbhai Makwana, respectively.
Pathak stated that the Congress insisted on contesting from Bharuch and that winnability, rather than "parivarwad" (dynasty), should be used to beat the BJP.
SEAT SHARING IN HARYANA
In Haryana, Congress bagged nine out of 10 seats, while AAP got one–Kurukshetra seat– in its kitty.
“The Congress will also contest the lone seat in Chandigarh,” Wasnik said.
THE GOA DEAL
In Goa, the Congress will field candidates on both Lok Sabha seats.
The announcement was made at a joint press conference attended by Wasnik, Lovely and Deepak Babaria from the Congress and Delhi ministers Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj and party leader Sandeep Pathakmfrom AAP.
NO PACT IN PUNJAB
No seat-sharing pact was announced for Punjab, where the ruling AAP has already announced it would contest in all 13 Lok Sabha constituencies independently.
“In Punjab, we have mutually decided that we will not be together,” said Sandeep Pathak.
INDIA BLOC DEALS IN OTHER STATES
Meanwhile, the Congress and Samajwadi Party agreed to share seats in Uttar Pradesh earlier this week. As part of the arrangement, Congress would field candidates for 17 Lok Sabha seats, while the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party and other alliance partners will receive the remaining 63 seats.
The INDIA bloc partners in Maharashtra are also anticipated to reach an agreement shortly. Nana Patole, president of the Maharashtra Congress, stated on Friday that conversations between the Congress, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), and the NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar are ongoing and that a final decision will be made soon.
