The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday released its first list of 20 candidates for the October 5 Haryana assembly polls, hinting at a roadblock in alliance talks with the Congress. With thisk after days of hard bargaining and a lot of back and forth, talks between the Congress and the AAP for a seat-sharing agreement broke down.
Sources in the AAP claimed that an “influential leader” in the Congress “sabotaged” the prospects of an alliance despite the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi showing a keen interest in a tie-up. Congress leaders said the differences were more over the choice of seats.
The Haryana Congress, especially the dominant faction of Leader of the Opposition in the state Bhupinder Singh Hooda, was strongly against an alliance with the AAP from the beginning. Gandhi, on the other hand, was keen to see the party strike a deal with the Kejriwal-led party to send a message of unity in the INDIA alliance.
The failure to arrive at a seat-sharing agreement may impact the possibility of the two major INDIA bloc allies coming together for the Delhi Assembly polls next year, according to leaders in both parties. Interestingly, AAP fielded 11 candidates out of 20 where Congress already announced its nominees, that means Kejriwal’s party pitted its candidates against Congress in 11 constituencies –
AAP initially demanded 10 to 15 seats but climbed down and conveyed to the Congress that it was willing to settle for five to seven constituencies, provided these were of its choice. The Congress, however, was not keen to part with seats such as Kalayat, Pehowa, Kalayat, Jind, Guhla, and Sohna that the AAP was seeking. Sources in the AAP claimed the Congress was offering it “weak seats”
Earlier in the day, AAP’s state unit chief Sushil Gupta said his party will release the names of candidates from all the 90 seats if the deal is not finalised by the evening.
As the AAP announced its candidates, the Congress maintained a strategic silence. AICC general secretary in charge of Haryana, Deepak Babaria, who was holding talks with the AAP till Sunday, said he was unwell and was admitted to a hospital.