lok-sabha-elections

Updated: Apr 12, 2019 21:16 IST

The Congress on Friday announced that it will contest all seven Lok Sabha seats of Delhi alone. Party in-charge for Delhi PC Chacko blamed the Aam Aadmi Party’s leadership for the failure of not having an alliance against the BJP in the national capital.

“Even today, we are ready for an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party with seat sharing arrangement of three seats to the Congress and four to them,” Chacko told a press conference in New Delhi.

Chacko said that in the talks with the AAP, represented by Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, the two parties arrived at an understanding on seat-sharing.

“In the last election held in Delhi, the Indian National Congress received 21 per cent vote while the Aam Aadmi Party secured 26 per cent votes. Together we won 47 per cent votes. On pro rata basis, the Congress should get 3 seats while the Aam Aadmi Party should contest on four seats in Delhi. This was the understanding in talks with Sanjay Singh,” he said.

Chacko said after “pact was arrived at” during the talks for alliance, the AAP leadership suggested to have seat-sharing understanding in Haryana and Punjab also. But the Congress did not agree to the AAP condition saying that the political situation is different in those states.

“The day before yesterday, a statement from the AAP came that the Congress is not ready for an understanding. This is not true,” said Chacko adding, “We are compelled to go on our own as AAP is going back on its stand.”

The Congress leader admitted to the opposition by the Delhi unit of the party. Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit had expressed her reservations over alliance talks with the AAP, which came into existence opposing the grand-old-party during UPA regime over the issue of Lokpal and fight against corruption.

Sheila Dikshit, who was the Delhi chief minister for 15 years, was defeated by AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal in 2013 Delhi assembly polls. The AAP, which came second in 2013, formed a government with outside support of the Congress. The government, however, lasted only 49 days.

In the next assembly election held in 2015, the AAP won 67 of 70 assembly seats in Delhi. The Congress failed to win a single seat while the BJP came second with 3 MLAs in Delhi assembly.