Talks between Congress and AAP on seat-sharing for the Haryana Assembly elections have hit a roadblock, with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party reportedly planning to contest 50 seats.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is likely to issue its first list of candidates on Sunday, sources in the AAP claimed just before a meeting of the Congress' central election committee.
"The alliance talks are on the verge of collapse in Haryana, and the AAP is planning to contest 50 of the 90 assembly seats in the state on its own," sources in the AAP told PTI.
Earlier, the party insiders said that the AAP was demanding 10 assembly seats in Haryana, whereas the Congress was offering five to seven seats.
Sources said no consensus was in sight over seat sharing.
The AAP and the Congress, partners in the Indian Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), contested the recent Lok Sabha polls in Haryana, Gujarat and Delhi together.
In Haryana, the AAP was given the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat.
Haryana state president Sushil Gupta contested from Kurukshetra and lost to BJP's Navin Jindal.
Sources in the AAP claimed that several "disgruntled" leaders of the BJP and the Congress were ready to join the party in Haryana, where the assembly elections will be held on October 5.
Notably, talks between Congress and AAP come after both had earlier decided to contest the Assembly elections by themselves.
On July 18, the AAP had announced its intention to go solo and came up with the slogan, ‘Badlenge Haryana ka haal, ab layenge Kejriwal’ (Will change Haryana by bringing in Kejriwal) to kickstart its campaign.
The Congress leaders in Haryana have also rejected the possibility of any alliance with AAP in the state. On August 24, senior Congress leader Kumari Selja had firmly ruled out the possibility of an alliance with the AAP, stating that the Congress will contest the polls on its own.
"We are partners (at the national level), but if you remember, it was decided that in every state, they (partners) can decide on their own. The AAP has gone on record first of the mark that they will not have an alliance in the Vidhan Sabha polls. I do think that the Congress is strong on its own, and we will fight on our own," Selja had told PTI.
Meanwhile, the ruling BJP in Haryana as well as the Congress are facing strong opposition from their own leaders over ticket distribution.
Several BJP leaders, including sitting MLAs, have announced that they would quit the party after being denied ticket for the polls