Lok Sabha elections news: Seat-sharing talks between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress seem to have reached a fruition in the final round.
The AAP is likely to fight on 4 seats whereas the Congress may get 3 seats in Delhi, India Today reported citing sources aware of the matter. A formal announcement regarding the alliance is likely soon.
Previously, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal said the seat-sharing agreement between the two parties reached the "final stage". Despite this, Kejriwal was less than pleased over the delays in the seat-sharing talks.
"Let's see what happens in the next two to three days. It has been delayed a lot, it should have happened earlier," Kejriwal told reporters. The development, however, has come after the AAP delivered a series of setbacks to the Congress -- including a single seat in Delhi and the big Punjab blow.
AAP gives Congress one seat
Before this, the AAP offered the Congress party just one out of the seven Lok Sabha seats "keeping in mind the 'dharma of alliance' ".
"On merit basis, the Congress party does not deserve even a single seat in Delhi, but keeping in mind the 'dharma of alliance', we are offering them one seat in Delhi. We propose the Congress party on one seat and AAP on six seats," AAP MP Sandeep Pathak said at the time.
Also Read: Lok Sabha elections 2024: AAP offers 1 seat to Congress, says 'keeping in mind dharma of alliance'
AAP delivers big blow to Congress in Punjab, Assam, Gujarat, Goa
Tensions between the AAP and the Congress peaked after the former declared it would fight on all 14 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab and Chandigarh alone. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann dismissed the possibility of any alliance with the Congress party in the state.
"I have said it on several occasions that Punjab will become a hero in the country and the AAP will win 13-0 in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections," Mann said. The party also unilaterally announced its decision to contest three seats in Assam, one in Goa and two in Gujarat.
Also Read: Mood of the Nation: AAP, Congress may clinch 5 Lok Sabha seats each in 2024 Lok Sabha elections
Congress, SP deal in Uttar Pradesh
The development comes a day after the Congress clinched a deal with Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.
Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pande on Wednesday said the grand old party will contest on 17 seats in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections. He added that the Samajwadi Party and other alliance partners of the INDIA bloc will contest in 63 seats.
"I am delighted to tell you that it has been decided that in Uttar Pradesh the INC will contest on 17 seats and the remaining 63 seats will have candidates of INDIA alliance- from SP and other parties," he said.
Delhi 2019 Lok Sabha results
Delhi has a total of seven seats in the Lok Sabha. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won all 7 seats whereas the Congress and the AAP failed to clinch even a single seat. The BJP bagged a vote share of more than 50 per cent in all the seven seats.
Also Read: Lok Sabha polls: Congress to contest 17 seats, Akhilesh's party and others on 63 in UP
Also Read: Big setback to Congress: AAP announces Lok Sabha candidates for Goa, Gujarat