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Elections 2019: Will AAP And Congress Tie-Up?

The two parties will meet for alliance talks. But a Twitter battle between Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal suggests otherwise.

Source: BloombergQuint
Source: BloombergQuint

A fresh round of talks will be held between the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress Wednesday, where the AAP will propose a tie-up in Delhi, Haryana and Chandigarh, sources told PTI.

Senior leader Ahmed Patel would hold talks on Congress’ behalf and the AAP will be represented by party leader Sanjay Singh, the sources have said. The meeting would be mediated by Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar. This is the second meeting held in his presence over talks on alliance.

On Sunday, Kejriwal said his party would do anything to “save the country” from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah. Kejriwal was addressing a press conference in New Delhi after a meeting of opposition parties to discuss the issue of electronic voting machine malfunctioning in the ongoing parliamentary election.

The sources said seat sharing in Delhi has to be done in the ratio of 5:2, with five seats for the AAP and two seats for the Congress. They said a response in the matter is awaited from the grand old party.

The uncertainty over an alliance between the AAP and the Congress has been continuing for some time now. Talks derailed after they failed to reach an agreement over seat-sharing in Delhi and Haryana. The Congress had proposed three seats for the AAP and four seats for the grand old party, but senior party leader Sanjay Singh called off the talks.

Congress’ in-charge for Delhi PC Chacko had said Friday the party would go it alone in Delhi as the AAP had taken an “impractical stand”. AAP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia although said Saturday that his party was ready to form an alliance with the Congress.

The AAP has announced names for all seven seats in Delhi, while the Congress is yet to make an announcement about it. Delhi goes to polls in the sixth phase of election on May 12. The results would be declared on May 23.

Opinion
Had One Meeting With Rahul, He Refused Alliance With AAP: Kejriwal

Rahul Alleges U-Turn

Congress president Rahul Gandhi Monday accused AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal of doing an "U-turn" on the alliance talks between the two parties and said the doors of the Congress are open, but time is running out.

However, Kejriwal claimed that the talks are still on and accused Gandhi of helping the BJP by "dividing anti-Modi votes in Uttar Pradesh and in some other states" The Congress president on Twitter said his party is willing to give four of the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi to the Aam Aadmi Party to ensure that the their alliance defeats the BJP.

"An alliance between the Congress and AAP in Delhi would mean the rout of the BJP. The Congress is willing to give up 4 Delhi seats to the AAP to ensure this," Gandhi tweeted. "But, Mr. Kejriwal has done yet another U-turn. Our doors are still open, but the clock is running out."

He used the hashtag "AbAAPkiBaari" to target the AAP leadership to come out with its side for an alliance with the Congress.

Hitting back at Gandhi on Twitter, Kejriwal said: "What U-turn. The talks are still on".

"Your tweet shows that an alliance is not your desire but only a pretension. I am pained that you are giving mere statements," he said.