The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday flexed its muscle in the midst of ongoing talks over a pre-poll alliance with the Congress in Haryana, saying it was ready to contest all seats on its own. Both sides appeared to be bargaining hard ahead of the September 12 nomination deadline.
Hours before AAP’s Raghav Chadha met AICC general secretary Deepak Babaria on Saturday for negotiations over seats, AAP leaders said no one should underestimate the party’s strength in Haryana. “We are ready to fight on our own on every seat. Those who are assessing us as weak are bound to repent in future,” AAP’s national general secretary organisation Sandeep Pathak said, indicating a hardening of the party’s stance a day after the Congress released its first list of 32 candidates.
A Congress source said they could not have parted with winnable seats at any cost. On the outcome of the third round of talks (the first two were held between Chadha and AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, who speaks directly for Rahul Gandhi), Babaria said, “Negotiations are being held over the sharing of seats. Nothing has been finalised yet. We will have clarity in a day or two.” Congress sources said AAP was demanding “too many seats and was not being reasonable”. Asked how many seats AAP was seeking, a Congress source said, “Around 20.”
Though the Haryana Congress unit is not keen on the alliance, the AICC leadership, especially Rahul, wants to honour the unity of INDIA bloc in which AAP and the Congress are partners. “The success of pre-poll alliance talks hinges on equal commitment on both sides. Talks have to be reasonable,” a Congress CEC member told The Tribune.
AAP sources, meanwhile, said they were preparing to contest at least 50 out of Haryana’s 90 seats and might release their first list of candidates by Sunday. Some even said the alliance talks with the Congress were on the brink of collapse.
