Rahul Gandhi Urges Party To Consider Alliance In Haryana. What AAP Says

Elections in Haryana are just a month away and preparations by political parties are in full swing. Amid the poll countdown, a big question is doing the rounds in political circles -- will the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) continue their alliance from the Lok Sabha polls?

In an interview to NDTV a week back, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said there have been no talks on an alliance between the two parties. "The alliance we had was at the national level. We have not spoken to them. Here the fight is between BJP and Congress," he said. In the Lok Sabha election earlier this year, the Congress managed to win five seats in Haryana -- a big improvement from 2019 when the BJP won the state's all 10 seats. The AAP, however, scored zero in this general election in the state.

Rahul Gandhi Seeks Party Leaders' View

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, it is learnt, sought party leaders' opinion on forging an alliance with AAP in the party's election committee meeting yesterday. Mr Hooda, sources said, is ready to spare 3-4 seats for AAP candidates in the election to the 90-seat House. The Congress, it is learnt, has finalised 30 candidates and may release a list of candidates tomorrow. The Congress has not officially said anything on the discussion on an alliance with AAP.

Rahul Gandhi, it is learnt, sought a report from party leaders on the feasibility of an alliance with AAP. The state leadership of the Congress, sources said, rejected the idea, but the high command asked them to relook at the ground situation. The high command, the sources said, is also considering the Delhi elections due next year and whether the Congress can tie-up with AAP for the capital contest.

Why Congress May Want Alliance

Mr Gandhi is now the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and this general election has denied the BJP a majority in the House. Against this backdrop, a big INDIA bloc win in Haryana will be another setback to the ruling party. The Congress leadership would be looking at strengthening the Opposition bloc and acting as the big brother in the INDIA bloc, putting pressure on BJP inside and outside Parliament. For a Haryana victory, it is critical to prevent division of votes. Hence, the Congress may be looking to forge an alliance, provided the state leadership plays ball.  

What Is The AAP View

Senior AAP leader and MP Sanjay Singh has welcomed reports that Mr Gandhi had asked leaders to explore the option of an alliance with AAP. He said a final call on this will be taken after consulting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in jail in a money laundering case.

"We welcome it. Our priority is to defeat the BJP... Our Haryana in-charge Sandeep Pathak and Sushil Gupta will discuss it and take a final decision and inform Arvind Kejriwal about it and a decision will be taken accordingly...," Mr Singh has said.

Earlier, Mr Kejriwal said AAP will contest all 90 seats in Haryana alone.

Hard Bargaining Likely

The Congress and AAP had tied up for the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana and the Chandigarh parliamentary seat. While the Congress won five seats in Haryana and the Chandigarh seat too, AAP did not benefit much from the alliance. Shortly after the poll results, a section of AAP's Haryana leaders blamed the Congress for the defeat of its candidate Sushil Gupta in Haryana's Kurukshetra. Against this backdrop, any alliance talk between AAP and Congress for the upcoming election is likely to see hard bargaining from both sides.