AAP offers Congress just 1 seat in Delhi for Lok Sabha elections

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday said it wants to contest six of the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and is ready to give one seat to the Congress as part of alliance dharma, adding that the INDIA bloc partner didn't deserve to contest any constituency in the Capital based on its recent electoral performances.

- Alok KN Mishra

The announcement deals yet another blow to the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), which has already suffered setbacks with the exit of the Janata Dal (United) and the decision of the AAP and the Trinamool Congress to go it alone in Punjab and West Bengal respectively.

All seven seats in Delhi are currently held by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which won a whopping 57% of the vote in 2019.

In a press conference, AAP national general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak also announced candidates for two Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat and one in Goa. He said that the AAP wants to contest eight of the 26 seats in Gujarat, and one of the two seats in Goa in alliance with the Congress, and blamed the latter for the delay in seat-sharing talks.

"Congress has zero Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, it has zero seats in the Delhi assembly. Out of 250 wards, the Congress won only nine seats in the (2022) MCD election. Even on a merit basis, the Congress party does not deserve a single seat according to the available data. But only data is not important. As per the alliance dharma and out of respect, we are ready to offer one seat to the Congress," he said.

"We are not announcing candidates today. I hope that seat-sharing talks for Delhi are finalised soon so we can get to work. If no conclusion is made soon, in the next few days we will announce candidates for the six seats and start our work," Pathak added.