Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi attend a Congress meeting in Delhi
The Congress party held a key meeting in Delhi today to discuss the strategy for the national election next year. The party has kept the door open for alliances, though there is much speculation over a possible tie-up between the Congress and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
"The meeting lasted for three hours; 40 leaders attended and gave their opinion. The talks focused on strengthening the Congress in Delhi," Congress leader Alka Lamba said after attending the meeting chaired by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Rahul Gandhi.
A section of the Delhi Congress is still sour over how the AAP suddenly came in the scene and decimated the Congress in the 2015 Delhi election. The AAP won 67 out of the 70 seats and the BJP took 3 seats. The Congress drew a blank then, which ended the party's 15-year rule of Delhi under former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.
Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhary and party leader Ajay Maken, who attended the meeting, highlighted possible issues linked to an alliance with the AAP, news agency PTI reported.
AAP leader and Delhi minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said nothing is known at the moment about any seat-sharing arrangement for the national election next year.
"When all the parties of the INDIA bloc sit and discuss seat-sharing, the national leadership of all the parties will come to an agreement. Till then nothing is concrete. All this is very far ahead," Mr Bhardwaj said.
AAP sources told NDTV there is no need for their party leaders to meet the Congress leadership if the Congress has already decided to go solo in the election.
"We saw the statement of the Congress Delhi chief in the media. If the Congress has decided to go it alone in Delhi, then there is no point in attending the meeting of the INDIA alliance. The final decision will be taken by the top leadership of the party," an AAP leader told NDTV, asking not to be identified.
Mr Kharge said they held the meeting to work out how best to strengthen the Congress in the national capital.
"We had made Delhi prosperous and happy, our struggle for the people of Delhi continues even further," Mr Kharge said after the meeting.
All the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi are currently held by the BJP.