AAP offers Congress only 1 Lok Sabha seat in Delhi
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday declared that it is willing to allocate only one of Delhi's seven Lok Sabha seats to the Congress within the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). AAP National General Secretary Sandeep Pathak made the announcement after a Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting in the national capital. The announcement came just days after the AAP declared its intention to contest "solo" all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab.
Why does this story matter?
The INDIA bloc, formed last year to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 elections, has been struggling with seat-sharing arrangements. It recently lost one of its key leaders after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joined hands with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Last month, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee announced she would contest the elections alone from her state. Days later, the Samajwadi Party also unilaterally announced its candidates for 16 seats in Uttar Pradesh.
AAP's rationale behind offering
The AAP's one-seat offer came with a jibe as CM Arvind Kejriwal's party said the Congress doesn't deserve even a single seat in the national capital on merit. Addressing a press conference, Pathak said the Congress had won no seats in the Lok Sabha and Delhi Assembly elections and only nine of 250 seats in the municipal corporation elections. "But only data is not important... Out of respect, we are ready to offer one seat to the Congress," he added.
AAP's proposal for seat-sharing in Delhi
Under the proposal, the Congress would contest one LS seat while the AAP party would compete for the remaining six in Delhi. "We are not announcing candidates today. I hope that seat-sharing talks for Delhi are finalized soon so we can get to work," Pathak said. He added that if an agreement is not reached promptly, the AAP would proceed to announce candidates for six seats and initiate its election preparations.
How Congress and BJP reacted
Meanwhile, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has acknowledged the delay in alliance talks. He said that the Congress was competing against the AAP at the state level but was united at the national level to defeat the BJP. Meanwhile, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla took a jibe at the Congress, stating that their allies have passed a "no-confidence motion" against the party.
AAP's performance in recent elections
In the 2019 general elections, the BJP secured a clean sweep in Delhi, claiming victory in all seven seats. The Congress emerged as the runner-up with over 22% of the votes, while the AAP ranked third in the elections. Since then, however, the AAP has demonstrated significant electoral success in both Delhi and Punjab. It defeated the BJP and the Congress in Delhi's assembly elections and municipal polls, as well as toppled the Congress government in Punjab.
