Ball is now in AAP's court: Cong on possible alliance
NEW DELHI: The Congress Tuesday asserted that it has shown a "big heart" by agreeing to form an alliance with the AAP in Delhi and said the ball is now in the court of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party to take a decision. A day after Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal indulged in a public spat over the issue, the grand old party said it has already offered AAP four seats in the national capital and now the decision has to be taken by it. "Party president Rahul Gandhi has made it pretty clear that an alliance can be formed just in Delhi in a ratio of 4:3," Senior party leader Randeep Surjewala told reporters, in response to a question on alliance. People have expressed their doubts to us over AAP but despite that we have shown a big heart and for a common objective we have agreed to form an alliance in Delhi.
Surjewala has made it clear on the party's stand on alliance in other states. He accused Kejriwal of playing "hide and seek" and said Gandhi has made its stand clear. Surjewala had last week said that if an alliance has to be made it can only be made in the national capital and not in other states.
Amid a continuing blame game over seat-sharing in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal Monday engaged in a public spat, with the Congress president accusing the AAP of making a 'U-turn' over alliance talks prompting the Delhi chief minister to hit back at him.
The Congress chief had said while the doors of his party are open, time is running out, but Kejriwal slammed him, questioning what U-turn was he talking about as the talks were still on.
The Congress has offered
the AAP 4:3 seat-sharing
formula — four Lok Sabha
seats for the ruling party and three seats for itself while
the AAP has proposed 5:2
ration keeping five seats for itself and two for the grand old party. The arrangement has been arrived at on basis of the vote share of both parties in 2017 civic polls here.
The Congress has accused the Kejriwal-led outfit of backing out from its commitment, as it is demanding seats in Goa, Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh, besides Delhi for a pre-poll understanding with the Congress. AAP leader Sanjay Singh said in response to Gandhi's tweet, "The Congress is not giving even a single seat to the AAP in Punjab where it has four MPs and 20 MLAs and in Haryana."
"In Delhi where the Congress has zero MPs and MLAs, it is demanding three seats. Is this how agreement happens? Why do not you want to stop the BJP in other states," he asked.
The AAP has already announced its candidates on the seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi, while the Congress has finalised names of its candidates which could be announced soon.
