Talks fail, AAP to fight all 90 Haryana seats

The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party appear set to contest the October 5 Haryana elections on their own with pre-poll alliance talks between the INDIA bloc partners hitting a seat-sharing roadblock. Top AAP brass today said the alliance was no longer on the table.

“Baat nahi bani (didn’t work out),” senior AAP leader and former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said on Monday evening hours after AAP’s Haryana unit chief Sushil Gupta announced the decision to contest all 90 seats and the party released the first list of 20 candidates.

• Editorial: Haryana polls

Of the 20, AAP named 12 candidates in seats where the Congress has already declared its nominees. As the talks failed, Sisodia said AAP had reached every village of Haryana and the party was ready to contest elections on every seat.

Asked about alliance prospects with the Congress, Sisodia clarified, “Talks to explore an alliance were held but now that it (the alliance) has not worked out, AAP workers will fight elections with all their might and defeat the BJP.”

The Congress did not comment officially on the issue of talks. Three top leaders, however, told this correspondent privately that “sincere efforts were made to reach an alliance, but it could not materialise”.

They said AAP was being “unreasonable with the number of seats to be contested”.

The Tribune has further learnt that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi personally initiated alliance talks with AAP after senior INDIA bloc partners backed the pact to bolster unity among parties that form the anti-BJP opposition group. Top INDIA bloc leaders from NCP Sharadchandra Pawar and TMC’s Mamata Banerjee to JMM’s Hemant Soren, SP’s Akhilesh Yadav and RJD’s Lalu Yadav are learnt to have favoured an AAP-Congress tie-up in Haryana.

“Sincere attempts were made from our side, but seat sharing could not be worked out. AAP was seeking too many seats,” said a Congress leader privy to discussions.

Indications that talks were on a weak footing came days before when the Congress changed its interlocutor — from powerful AICC general secretary, organisation, KC Venugopal who speaks directly for Rahul Gandhi to AICC general secretary, Haryana, Deepak Babaria. From AAP, Raghav Chadha was engaged in negotiations.

A Congress leader today said AAP was confused about what it wanted in Haryana and kept changing the wish list of seats. “At one time they asked for 20 seats. This was unreasonable,” said a leader, adding that AAP’s move of declaring 20 candidates on Monday morning, including 12 where Congress has already named its nominees, signalled the end of negotiations on their part.

“At least six seats announced by AAP today are strongholds of former state Chief Minister and Congress veteran Bhupinder Singh Hooda,” said a Congress source who is involved in Haryana poll strategy.

Surjewala’s son to make debut?

Congress sources told The Tribune that AICC general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala’s younger son Aditya was likely to make his political debut from his father’s traditional Kaithal seat in the Assembly poll.

Cong sub-panelsends names for approval

A Congress sub-committee formed to finalise candidates in challenging seats on Monday sent its final report with single-name panels to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for approval.

AAP releases first list of 20 candidates

• AAP on Monday declared its first list of 20 candidates
• Among nominees are a journalist, doctor, former minister and a few turncoats
• AAP state chief Sushil Gupta’s name missing from list
• State vice-chief Dhanda fielded from Kalayat