Shot in the arm for Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who had opposed pact

With the Congress-AAP talks not pulling through, it appears that ex-CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s writ has prevailed. He was opposed to the alliance right from the beginning. His camp had argued that AAP lacked community-wise vote base and had performed poorly in previous elections in the state.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha poll when AAP had fought on its own, it had polled 0.36 per cent of the vote, just ahead of NOTA. The Vidhan Sabha poll that year saw AAP contesting 46 seats only to forfeit deposits on all seats with a vote percentage of 0.48. It was less than NOTA, which polled 0.52 per cent.

“How would have the alliance benefited the Congress? It was only AAP that would have gained. The Congress would risked losing all seats allotted to AAP,” said a senior Congress MLA supporting Hooda.

The Hooda camp didn’t want to part with the Kalayat, Pehowa, and Guhla (SC) seats. The Jind seat was also a bone of contention. AAP will be at a disadvantage with the alliance not taking off. It lost out on precious time to take in rebels from other parties, said a senior Congress leader.