No alliance with AAP, decision taken at top-level meet: Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit

Dixit tenure came to an end after a landslide defeat in 2013 when AAP founder Arvind Kejriwal won the election in the New Delhi Assembly constituency by a margin of 25,864 votes. Dixit resigned on 8 December 2013, but remained the caretaker Chief Minister of Delhi till the new Government was sworn in She was appointed as the Governor of Kerala in March 2014, but was forced to resign five months later. (Image: Reuters)

Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit on March 5 said the party has decided not to ally with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls in Delhi.

"A unanimous decision has been taken that there will be no alliance in Delhi," Dikshit said told news agency ANI.

AICC General Secretary in-charge of Delhi PC Chacko also confirmed the development.

The decision was taken after Congress president Rahul Gandhi held a meeting with senior party leaders earlier in the day.

"In the meeting, all the local leaders and MLAs in Delhi, including ex-PCC and sitting PCC, said nobody wants an alliance with AAP in Delhi," a Congress leader told Moneycontrol. "Congress is gaining in Delhi, and AAP's clout is waning, which is why AAP has been pressurising Congress to enter into an alliance," the leader added.

Reacting to the development, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal stated that "Congress is helping the BJP by splitting anti-BJP vote".

At a time when the whole country wants to defeat Modi- Shah duo, Cong is helping BJP by splitting anti-BJP vote. Rumours r that Cong has some secret understanding wid BJP. Delhi is ready to fight against Cong-BJP alliance. People will defeat this unholy alliance. https://t.co/JUsYMjxCxy

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 5, 2019

Earlier, AAP sources in Delhi had told Moneycontrol that the party cadre is reluctant to enter into an alliance with the Congress in Delhi.

Also Read | Why does AAP want an alliance with Congress in Delhi?

"The 2013 win for AAP was after a campaign against the Sheila Dikshit-led government. To push the workers who campaigned against her into an alliance with a party led by her would not be advisable," an AAP worker had told Moneycontrol.

The possibility of an alliance between AAP and Congress in Delhi for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls has been on the table for long.

After the late night Opposition meeting at Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar's residence in New Delhi on February 13, Kejriwal had said Congress has "more or less" ruled out an alliance with the party in the national capital.

"We are very worried about the nation, so we are more keen (on an alliance). The Congress has almost said no to an alliance," Kejriwal had said while addressing reporters after the meet.

Delhi sends seven MPs to Lok Sabha. All the seven Lok Sabha seats were swept by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the 2014 general elections.