AAP, Congress in seat-sharing talks for Haryana Assembly polls       

New Delhi, September 3

Efforts to forge an AAP-Congress alliance for Haryana Assembly polls have gained momentum with the two parties already in talks over a seat-sharing arrangement, according to AAP insiders.

While the Aam Aadmi Party is demanding 10 seats to contest out of 90, the Congress is ready to give only seven, they said.

Sources in AAP said on Tuesday that senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha and Congress's KC Venugopal have already held two rounds of talks and are likely to meet again in a day or two.

"The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is demanding 10 seats. However, Congress is ready to give only seven. AAP has claimed one seat from each of the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies," said a source in the Arvind Kejriwal-led party.

Earlier in the day, AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh welcomed reports claiming that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has shown interest in the possibility of an alliance with AAP in Haryana, where polls will be held on October 5, and asserted that defeating the BJP is a priority of all the opposition parties.

He added any decision regarding an alliance will be taken with the approval of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently in jail in excise policy-related cases.

There were several reports claiming that Gandhi, in a meeting of Congress's Central Election Committee (CEC) on Monday, expressed interest in the possibility of an alliance with AAP for assembly polls in Haryana.

"Defeating the BJP and its politics of hatred and politics against people, farmers and youth is a priority for all of us," Singh said.

Singh, however, said any official stand on the issue will be made by AAP's in-charge of Haryana affairs Sandeep Pathak and state president Sushil Gupta.

"Any final decision in this regard will be taken by our leaders associated with organisational and election-related works in Haryana, after the approval of Kejriwal," said the senior AAP leader.

Delhi minister Atishi said the decision will only be taken after Kejriwal is released.

"Rahul Gandhi has sought an opinion from Congress leaders and only they can answer. We have got to know about it from the media. As far as alliance goes, the decision will be taken after Arvind Kejriwal comes out," she told reporters on the sidelines of an event.

Congress leaders in Haryana, however, have rejected the possibility of any alliance with AAP in the state.

Recently, senior Congress leader in Haryana Kumari Selja said her party is strong in the state and will fight the elections on its own.