The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress’ talks on the share of seats for the Lok Sabha election in the national capital seem to be heading the Punjab way, with the ruling party offering just one seat out of the seven to its senior INDIA bloc partner.
Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak on February 13 also expressed disappointment over what he said was Congress’ lack of enthusiasm to discuss the seat-sharing arrangement.
“The AAP has proposed offering one seat to Congress in Delhi, based on its performance in assembly and municipal polls. If Congress doesn’t agree to our proposal, we will soon announce our six candidates,” he said.
Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP is in power in Delhi and Punjab and wants bigger share of seats in keeping with its performance in assembly polls.
Despite two meetings held in a positive atmosphere on January 8 and 12, no significant progress has been made, Pathak said. AAP asked for a third meeting to take forward the discussions on Delhi, Punjab and other states but it didn’t materialise.
“Our party was eager to engage in dialogue with the Congress but party leaders repeatedly delayed citing Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra. Eventually, when we did meet with several senior Congress leaders, they seemed unaware of any such meeting. With this approach, it will be difficult to win elections,” Pathak said.
The Rajya Sabha MP said the opposition bloc was set up in July with the nation’s interests at heart and opposition parties consistently prioritised national interests over personal agendas.
Pathak claimed AAP wanted to field a candidate from the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat but the Congress refused, citing an emotional connection as late party leader Ahmed Patel used to contest from the seat. It now plans to field his daughter.
“We have examined the data, which clearly shows that the Congress last won the seat in 1984. It’s been 40 years since the party has not won. Even in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP secured 55 percent vote share and Congress 26 percent,” Pathak said.
If the BJP has to be defeated, serious calculations need to be considered. Seats should be claimed by those who can defeat the BJP not given to family members, he said.
Announcing candidates for Goa and Gujarat, Pathak said he was hopeful that the INDIA bloc would accept the party's decision.
He announced Venzy Viegas would contest from the South Goa seat. Chaitar Vasava and Umesh Bhai Makwana would be party candidates from Bharuch and Bhavnagar seats in Gujarat.
AAP asked for eight Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat out of a total of 26, which was proportionate to the party’s vote share in the last assembly poll, he said.
AAP has been saying that it will go it alone in Punjab, which has 13 seats in the Lok Sabha though talks with the Congress are still on.
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