NEW DELHI: Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala on Sunday ruled out an alliance with Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party in Haryana and Punjab for the Lok Sabha elections.
Surjewala also told the media that the party is yet to reach a decision on stitching up an alliance with the AAP in the national capital.
“There is no conversation or alliance with the Aam Aadmi party either in Haryana or Punjab. There is no talk on alliance with any party, including the AAP, either in Haryana or in Punjab. We are soon going to declare our candidates (for the two states),” Surjewala said Sunday at a press conference where the Congress unveiled its campaign slogan for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls ‘Ab Hoga Nyay’. “The party is yet to reach a decision on forging an alliance with the AAP in Delhi.”
On Saturday, the AAP had said after a meeting of Kejriwal and senior leaders Sanjay Singh, Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai that it will enter into an alliance with the Congress in Delhi only if the latter agreed for the same in Haryana and backed its demand for full statehood to Delhi.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi had on Saturday discussed the issue with senior party leaders, including Delhi Congress President and former chief minister Sheila Dikshit.
The AAP had conveyed to the Congress leadership that it wants Faridabad, Gurugram and Karnal seats, besides demanding the latter makes an open announcement to support its demand of statehood.
The logic behind the stand was that the AAP leadership felt a tie up with the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) and the Congress could trounce the BJP in all 10 Lok Sabha seats of Haryana.
Party insiders had claimed that the local leadership of Congress party in Haryana is ready for an alliance, unlike in Punjab where senior Congress leader and Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is not ready to cede any ground to the AAP.
Delhi, Punjab and Haryana account for seven, thirteen and ten Lok Sabha seats, respectively.