AAP, Congress finalize seat-sharing formula for Lok Sabha polls: Reports
The Aam Aadmi Party and Congress have reportedly reached an agreement on seat-sharing for the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. The AAP may contest four constituencies: South Delhi, West Delhi, North West Delhi, and New Delhi, while the Congress may contest Chandni Chowk, East Delhi, and North East Delhi constituencies. The AAP had initially offered one Lok Sabha seat to the Congress, saying it deserved nothing more based on its previous election record. A formal announcement is likely soon.
Why does this story matter?
The deal is a huge boost for the opposition bloc, Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), which has seen back-to-back setbacks in recent days. The bloc saw its main architect, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, move back to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in January. Before that, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and AAP in Punjab ruled out an alliance. The pact will give the bloc fuel to take on the BJP in the upcoming general elections.
BJP holds all 7 Lok Sabha seats
The BJP currently holds all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. In both the 2014 and 2019 general elections, the BJP won all seven seats in Delhi, with its candidates garnering more votes than the combined total of Congress and AAP candidates. The AAP has 62 MLAs in the 70-member Delhi assembly, while the Congress does not have any Lok Sabha MPs or MLAs from Delhi at present.
AAP demands 8 Lok Sabha seats from Congress in Gujarat
Apart from Delhi, the AAP said it was holding talks with the INDIA bloc partners for a pact in Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi, and Goa. AAP national general secretary Sandeep Pathak said the party has demanded eight out of 26 Lok Sabha seats from the Congress in Gujarat. He said that the AAP won five seats with 13 percent of the votes in the last assembly polls in Gujarat.
SP-Congress announce UP seat-sharing arrangement
On Wednesday, the Congress announced that it will contest 17 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and the remaining 63 seats will be for the Samajwadi Party (SP) and other alliance partners of the INDIA bloc. "It has been decided that in Uttar Pradesh the Congress will contest on 17 seats and the remaining 63 seats will have candidates...from SP and other parties," Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pande said in a press conference.
Congress to contest from Raebareli, Amethi
As per the agreement, Congress will field candidates on its strongholds—Raebareli and Amethi. Additionally, the party will also contest Lok Sabha seats of Kanpur Nagar, Fatehpur Sikri, Basgaon, Saharanpur, Prayagraj, Maharajganj, Amroha, Jhansi, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Mathura, Sitapur, Barabanki, and Deoria. Notably, Congress will also field its candidate on Varanasi seat, the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Priyanka Gandhi helped finalize seat-sharing arrangement
The seat-sharing agreement in UP was reached after Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met with the SP's Akhilesh Yadav, breaking the weeks-long deadlock between their parties. Following the meeting, Yadav confirmed that an alliance between the SP and Congress will indeed take place in the state. "All is well that ends well...there is no dispute...there will be an alliance," Yadav said when asked about his absence from Rahul Gandhi's "Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra" in Amethi and Raebareli.
