We stand firmly with ‘INDIA’: AAP on decision to contest all seats in Punjab | News – Business standard

AAP said the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) must take quick action on seat-sharing as there is not much time left for preparations for the Lok Sabha polls (Photo: PTI)

The Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday emphasized that it stood firmly with the INDIA bloc and asked Congress for a quick decision on seat-sharing, even as it defended the move to go it alone in Punjab saying that local units from both parties wanted to fight the Lok. Sabha elections separately.

AAP president and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, while speaking in Punjab earlier today, announced that his party will field its candidates for all 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state and the lone parliamentary seat in Chandigarh in the next 10-15 days will be announced. .

The local units of both the Congress and the AAP in Punjab were in favor of fighting the elections separately, said the Aam Aadmi Party, which had earlier called for an alliance with the Congress in Delhi, Gujarat, Goa and Haryana, in a declaration.

“So we decided to honor that. As for other states, discussions are ongoing,” the statement said.

“We firmly support the alliance. Our common goal is to defeat the BJP. So, time is of the essence if the aim is to defeat the BJP and we hope that the Congress will conclude seat-sharing talks as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said. party, which is in power in Delhi and Punjab, said.

AAP has unilaterally announced its Lok Sabha candidates in several states despite being part of the INDIA bloc.

Earlier this week, AAP National General Secretary (Organization) Sandeep Pathak expressed dissatisfaction over the ongoing seat-sharing talks with the Congress and declared his party’s Lok Sabha candidates on three seats in Assam.

Before this, Kejriwal during his visit to Gujarat in January declared Chaitar Vasava as the AAP candidate in the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat in the state.

AAP said the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) should take quick action on seat-sharing as there is not much time left for preparations for the Lok Sabha polls.

“We believe in fighting hard and we have been waiting for conclusions for months now. We must conclude all discussions and start campaigning,” the report said.

An alliance between AAP and Congress in Delhi could come about as they need to come together to break the BJP’s winning streak in the Lok Sabha polls, sources in both parties say.

The two parties have been involved in talks in recent months with sources claiming a possible seat-sharing formula under which Congress would be allowed to contest four seats and AAP three seats out of the total seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi.

The BJP won all seven Lok Sabha seats by huge margins in the 2014 and 2019 Assembly elections. Interestingly, in 2019, BJP candidates polled more votes than the combined number of Congress and AAP candidates.

First print: February 10, 2024 | 10:43 PM IST