In a significant development for the Opposition coalition known as the INDIA bloc, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress announced on Saturday that they have reached agreements on seat allocations for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, which are anticipated to occur in April-May of this year, encompassing Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Chandigarh, and Goa.
During a press briefing, Congress general secretary Mukul Wasnik outlined the arrangements, detailing that the AAP would contest from three parliamentary constituencies in Delhi—specifically New Delhi, West Delhi, South Delhi, and East Delhi—while the Congress would field candidates in Chandni Chowk, North East Delhi, and North West Delhi.
In Haryana, Congress is slated to compete in nine Lok Sabha seats, with one seat allocated to the AAP for Kurukshetra, according to Wasnik.
For Gujarat, the Congress is set to contest in 24 constituencies, with the AAP venturing into Bhavnagar and Bharuch. Chandigarh will see the Congress contesting independently, and in Goa, the Congress will run in both Lok Sabha seats.
Wasnik underscored the unique administrative statuses of Delhi and Chandigarh, highlighting that while Delhi functions as a National Capital Territory with a measure of autonomy, including its own legislative assembly and a Lieutenant Governor, Chandigarh is directly governed by the Centre as a Union Territory, presided over by an Administrator.
Notably, no formal agreement regarding seat-sharing was reached for Punjab, where the AAP previously declared its intention to contest all 13 Lok Sabha constituencies.
Wasnik emphasized that while both the AAP and Congress would retain their individual party symbols, they would collaborate in contesting the Lok Sabha elections jointly.
The seat-sharing accords, Wasnik explained, aim to counteract perceived threats to Indian democracy, with the alliance prioritizing the interests of the nation over individual party concerns.
The press conference, attended by representatives from both parties, including Wasnik, Arvinder Singh Lovely, and Deepak Babaria from the Congress, and Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, and Sandeep Pathak from the AAP, signaled a unified front against what they perceive as challenges to democracy in India. Pathak echoed this sentiment, expressing a commitment to providing a robust alternative to current political dynamics by setting aside differences.
Furthermore, the AAP-Congress agreement follows a similar accord between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress is slated to contest 17 Lok Sabha seats, with the remainder allocated to the SP and other partners of the INDIA bloc. Notably, Congress will field candidates in its strongholds such as Raebareli and Amethi, along with Varanasi, the constituency represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
