AAP, Congress set for Delhi deal, but tie-up unlikely in Punjab

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, January 8

The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party on Monday commenced formal seat-sharing talks for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections with indications that the two parties may be headed towards a deal in Delhi but are unlikely to reach an agreement in Punjab.

Seat sharing to depend on 2019 results

• Only Delhi LS poll strategy discussed; both parties agree to look at 2019 LS results to make a fair assessment of seat division
• Sources said the two sides did not discuss seat divisions on Monday and talks were restricted to bringing ground cadres together
• An agreement was reached on holding joint press conferences and events against “the misrule of the BJP-ruled Centre”

Broad contours of the Lok Sabha poll strategy on seven Delhi seats were discussed today between the two INDIA bloc parties, with top leaders agreeing to hold a second, more decisive meeting, this week. Only Delhi segments came up for talks today. No discussions were held on Punjab seats at the first formal meeting on the alliance hosted by Congress general secretary Mukul Wasnik at his residence here.

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Wasnik, Salman Khurshid and Mohan Prakash, members of the AICC’s national alliance committee tasked with finalisation of seat-sharing agreements with INDIA partners, represented the Congress along with Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Lovely.

Delhi ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj and Rajya Sabha member Sandeep Pathak were there from AAP.

Sources told The Tribune that the two sides did not discuss seat divisions today and talks were restricted to bringing ground cadres together. An agreement was reached on holding joint press conferences and events against “the misrule of BJP-ruled Centre” and on strategies to unite party cadres under the INDIA banner in Delhi, the sources said.

To finalise the LS seat division, the Congress and AAP today agreed to analyse the 2019 Lok Sabha election result to reach a fair assessment on who should contest which of the seven parliamentary constituencies.

In the previous LS polls, which the BJP swept in Delhi, the Congress had finished second in five seats against AAP which was second in two.

In East Delhi, won by BJP’s Gautam Gambhir, Congress’ Arvinder Singh Lovely was second and AAP’s Atishi third.

Actor-politician Manoj Tiwari of the BJP won the northeast Delhi where late Congress veteran Sheila Dikshit was second.

In the New Delhi seat, Congress’ Ajay Maken was defeated by BJP’s Meenakshi Lekhi and in Chandni Chowk, Congress JP Agarwal finished behind BJP’s Harsh Vardhan, the winner.

In West Delhi, BJP’s Parvesh Verma defeated Congress’ Mahabal Mishra.

AAP leaders finished behind BJP winners in two LS seats in 2019 — South Delhi (Raghav Chadha) and North West Delhi (Gugan Singh).

Also, three AAP candidates (Pankaj Gupta from Chandki Chowk; Dilip Pandey from North East and Brijesh Goyal from New Delhi) lost security deposits against one Congress candidate — boxer Vijender Singh, who contested from South Delhi.

“The two parties have consented to look at the Lok Sabha election result data of 2019 to make a fair assessment on seats,” the sources said.