AAP-Cong alliance 'sealed'
NEW DELHI: After weeks of flip flops and conflicting signals, the AAP and Congress have reportedly reached a consensus on tying up for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Sources in both the parties said the Congress and AAP are likely to join hands in Delhi as well as Haryana, with the grand old party deciding to include the demand for full statehood to Delhi in its manifesto.
The two, however, deferred a decision on Punjab amid reports that chief minister Amarinder Singh was not favourably predisposed to an alliance in the state.
Even as the AAP and the Congress continue to reject any possibility of an alliance in Delhi outwardly, both parties are still working on a tie-up behind the scenes, with several opposition leaders playing a pivotal role in bringing the two together.
Sources said the Congress leadership is also in talks with AAP leaders and senior leaders within the party are trying to convince the Delhi Congress for an alliance with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party.
Congress wanted 4:3 seats calculated by seats won by Congress and AAP in the 2017 municipal elections. AAP had won 49 seats and Congress 31 after getting 26% and 21% vote share, respectively. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, AAP polled 33% of the votes while Congress got 15%. The combined vote share of Congress and AAP stood at 48%, two percentage points more than the BJP's 46%. It is understood that Congress may have settled for two seats.
