In what may sound like a harsh jolt for the Opposition’s grand 28-party INDIA alliance, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday declared that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will not enter into an alliance with the Congress in the state for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Exuding confidence that AAP will win all 13 Lok Saha seats from Punjab, Mann said: “We will not have electoral alliance with Congress.’’
His statement came shortly after West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee announced her decision to go solo in 2024 Lok Sabha polls in her state.
His statement came at a time when the Congress was busy in damage control exercise in West Bengal. Discussions are also going on among the party leaders on having seat sharing arrangements in different states like Haryana, Goa, Gujarat and Delhi for the coming parliamentary elections.
However, the AAP has entered into an alliance with the Congress for the Chandigarh mayoral poll.
Mann disclosed that discussions have already taken place on the AAP’s likely candidates and volunteers for Punjab’s 13 Lok Sabha seats and the names of 40 probables have come up. “We have kept winnability as the criterion for fielding a candidate,’’ he said.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress won eight of Punjab’s 13 seats, the Shiromani Akali Dal and its erstwhile ally the BJP won two each while the AAP won one.