The second round of seat-sharing talks between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress went on for over two hours at the residence of Congress MP Mukul Wasnik on Friday.
While AAP MPs Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Delhi ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj represented their party, Congress was represented by former Union minister Salman Khurshid, RS MP Mukul Wasnik, former Delhi minister Arvinder Singh Lovely and Mohan Prakash.
According to sources, a three-layered discussion was on the agenda — in which states will the two parties ally, what is the number of seats that each would contest and which are those specific seats.
Emerging from the talks, Khurshid said there was ‘good chemistry’ but talks are not yet final and would continue.
“Good chemistry takes time to appear as far as test tubes are concerned. So, there is good chemistry until now as there have not been any explosions. There have not been any cracks in the test tubes. Colour looks very good. So just wait for the final solution,” he said.
The senior leader added: “We are progressing in a very satisfying manner and we are all content. Through mutual discussions, we are heading towards a decision. We hope that we will arrive at a decision soon and after placing the same in front of our leaders, we will place it in front of you.”
Ahead of the talks, AAP sources had indicated that discussions between the two sides will focus on Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat and Goa. Punjab, according to sources, was off the table as neither side was willing for any seat sharing. Congress already has seven sitting MPs and will not settle for less. AAP has one and wants to contest all 13 seats.
The other two factors propelling the decision of the two parties to fight independent of each other is that should there be an alliance, it may open the window for the revival of the Akalis, and that BJP is not a factor in Punjab.
Bhagwant Mann indicated that the AAP will contest all 13 seats in the state. “This time, the result in Punjab will be 13-0. By winning all 13 seats, we will become heroes in the entire country,” he said after dedicating 14 modern libraries in Sangrur, his home turf. Congress leader Pargat Singh had also signalled a solo show for the party in Punjab.
Asked whether the two parties discussed just Delhi or other states also, Khurshid said: “Every state was discussed. We shared an aspiration amongst ourselves in the INDIA bloc. We trust each other. We bond with each other. We share thoughts, ideas and suggestions. We don’t want to reduce them to number of seats and number of states etc. So please bear with us. And understand that we believe in the beauty of the alliance.”
None of the leaders present on both sides elaborated on the specifics of the talks.
When asked repeatedly whether seat-sharing in Punjab was discussed, especially in the context of Pargat Singh’s statement, Khurshid said whatever will be done will be done by both the parties together and both AAP and Congress take the suggestions of their workers seriously which will be factored in when the final decision is taken.
According to sources, what AAP and Congress may settle for in Punjab are “friendly fights”.
Leaders on both sides remained tight-lipped but gave enough indication that the talks had progressed. AAP is serious about gaining a foothold in parliamentary polls in neighbouring Haryana. With little presence in Harayna, it may be difficult for the party to wrangle with Congress for seats from the state. While there is a rough understanding on the compulsion for the seven seats in Delhi, AAP may use its strong showing in the assembly polls to get seats elsewhere.
Gujarat and Goa are the two other states where AAP has MLAs apart from Delhi and Punjab. It is looking for space within the INDIA bloc here also.
Much to the consternation of the Congress, AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal has already declared jailed MLA Chaitar Vasava from the Bharuch Lok Sabha constituency in Gujarat. In seat-sharing talks between the AAP and the Congress, it remains to be seen whether Congress lets go of the Bharuch seat.
Gujarat has 26 parliamentary constituencies — all won by the BJP in 2019. As far as Goa is concerned, it sends just two MPs to Parliament. In 2019, BJP and Congress won one each. However, in the 2022 assembly elections, AAP won two assembly constituencies and does not want to throw away a chance at a parliamentary seat. Kejriwal is scheduled to travel to Goa to meet party workers between January 18 and 20.
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