The AAP has amended its four-three seat-sharing proposal to the Congress to accommodate the North West Delhi Parliamentary constituency, bringing both partners of the INDIA bloc closer to an alliance in the national capital, said sources on Friday.
A formal announcement regarding the alliance was likely on Saturday, which — in Delhi’s context — is likely to see the AAP contest East, South, West and New Delhi, and the Congress candidates from the North East, North West and Chandni Chowk seats.
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As per a Friday report by The Indian Express, Congress had “disagreed” with the AAP on its proposal — asked to contest from the East, North East and Chandni Chowk parliamentary constituencies. With two of the three Lok Sabha seats offered by the AAP — East and North East Delhi — sharing a border with Uttar Pradesh; and assessed to have led to an underwhelming performance for Congress in previous elections, including the Capital’s civic polls, because of “polarisation”, sources said it was “in favour of North West Delhi instead”.
“Our conveyed our reservations to AAP, after which they came back with a counter proposal, replacing the East Delhi seat with the one in North West Delhi, to which we have agreed. The alliance will most likely be announced on Saturday,” said a senior Congress leader. “After the seats are finalised, discussions on the candidates will begin. Both the parties have, more or less, chosen whom they want to field. These potential candidates will be jointly assessed before a final decision is taken,” said the Congress leader.
Sources said both the parties are also likely to clear the air on the contours of the alliance in other states on Saturday. These would include two Lok Sabha seats — each in Gujarat and Goa, one in Haryana, and the Chandigarh one.
In Gujarat, AAP has declared Botad legislator Umesh Makwana as its candidate from Bhavnagar, and Dediapada MLA Chaitar Vasava from Bharuch Lok Sabha seat. To be sure, the Bharuch seat is a sore thumb for Congress, which has claimed it, given its association with its late senior leader and strategist Ahmed Patel.
For AAP reversing its decision on the South Goa seat, currently occupied by Congress’s three-time MP Francisco Sardinha, is the challenge. AAP has announced its Benaulim MLA, Venzy Viegas, as its contender for the seat.
Sources said that the party is likely to give up South Goa to Congress, in addition to the Chandigarh seat, in return for which AAP is likely to be given one seat of its choice in Haryana.