AAP-Cong still in talks for deal, but time running out

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 19

Time is running out for the long negotiated alliance between Aam Aadmi Party and Congress with the leaders of two parties still engaged in talks and suspense around the pact intact. The last date of filing of nominations for elections to seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi is April 23.

The process of filing of nominations for Delhi has begun and two AAP nominees from the city state — Dilip Pandey (North East Delhi) and Balbir Singh Jakhar (West Delhi) —  have already filed their papers. Meanwhile, AAP and Congress leaders are still talking to see if they can salvage a deal.

AAP remains insistent on an alliance in Delhi, Haryana and Chandigarh and has communicated to Congress that if a three-state deal for 18 Lok Sabha seats does not come through, they would want five out of seven Lok Sabha segments in Delhi for themselves. The hitherto negotiated Delhi deal involves four LS seats for AAP and three for Congress, something Congress chief Rahul Gandhi publicly committed recently.

AICC general secretary incharge of Haryana Ghulam Nabi Azad and AAP leader Sanjay Singh are, meanwhile, learnt to have held another meeting today to find ways of extending the Delhi alliance to Haryana. The AAP is said to have agreed to back Congress nominee Pawan Bansal in Chandigarh.

Officially, the Congress today denied being in talks with the AAP on Haryana with party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala saying: “We have already said Congress is not talking to AAP about Haryana and Punjab and talks are restricted to Delhi.” 

Asked if the Congress and AAP talks have yielded any outcome in Delhi, Surjewala said: “As and when there is a comprehensive outcome we will let you know.”

The Tribune has learnt that Azad and Sanjay Singh are looking at possibilities of reaching an understanding in Haryana seats with AAP interested in Karnal for itself and Sonepat and Hisar or Kurukshetra for the JJP.

Haryana Congress rank and file is divided on allying with AAP with some leaders opining that the Congress would accommodate AAP at its cost.

But Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is said to have given a go ahead to state leaders to see if they can work with the AAP in this LS election. The Congress is yet to declare four seats in Haryana. These include Karnal, Sonepat, Kurukshetra and Hisar.

Former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda told The Tribune: “We do not need any alliance in Haryana but our position is clear. If an alliance is struck in national interest, we will go by it.”

AAP and Congress leaders understand they have to wind up alliance talks soon considering four days are left for filing of Delhi nominations. Elections in Delhi and Haryana are in the sixth phase on May 12 and in Chandigarh in the last phase on May 19.

Nagar’s nomination under review

• The nomination of Haryana Congress MLA Lalit Nagar from Faridabad Lok Sabha segment is learnt to have been placed under review by the party high command after reports of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar targeting Nagar for his “closeness to Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law Robert Vadra”
• Nagar, who was supposed to file his nomination papers on Friday, did not do so. His nomination was recently announced along with that of Kumari Selja, Ashok Tanwar, Deepender Hooda, Shruti Choudhry and Ajay Yadav from Ambala, Sirsa, Rohtak, Bhiwani and Gurgaon, respectively