New Delhi: The Congress may set aside a few seats in Haryana for INDIA bloc partner Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) but there are still many hurdles to be crossed before such a tie-up can emerge.
There are indications that a section of the Haryana unit wants to go solo for the 5 October Assembly polls, while the AAP has clearly said it would not settle for just a few seats in the 90-constituency House.
Rahul Gandhi Monday floated the alliance idea at a meeting of the Central Election Committee (CEC), when party leaders sat down to finalise candidates for the upcoming polls.
A Congress leader, who was in attendance, said Rahul did not seem averse to the idea of seat-sharing on a “limited scale”, but made it clear that the party’s Haryana unit would have to be on board.
The state unit is divided into two factions—one led by former chief minister Bhupender Singh Hooda, the other by Sirsa MP Kumari Selja. While Hooda is open to the idea of sharing a few seats with the AAP, Selja is vehemently against it.
Another Congress leader who was at the meeting told ThePrint that Rahul did not exactly “bat for seat-sharing” but said the possibility could be explored. “He said feedback should be taken from the Haryana unit. But it is unlikely that more than three seats will be given to the AAP,” the leader said.
According to a senior Congress leader, the AAP has pockets of influence in Haryana’s urban areas, which are the traditional BJP strongholds. An alliance with the AAP will not only prevent a division of anti-incumbency votes but will also dent the BJP’s support base in urban areas, said the Congress leader.
‘Should not settle for 4-5 seats’
The AAP has publicly welcomed the Congress’s opening move, but there is also disquiet about the number of seats the national party may be willing to part with.
Harping on the common refrain that defeating the BJP should be the priority of the INDIA bloc, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said party’s National General Secretary (Organisation) Sandeep Pathak would hold talks with the Congress if the proposal gained momentum.
“The final decision will be taken by Arvind Kejriwal,” Singh told reporters at his residence.
AAP’s Haryana chief Sushil Gupta Tuesday said it was his personal opinion that the party should not settle for four to five seats. But he too left it for Delhi Chief Minister and AAP National Convenor Kejriwal to take the final call.
According to sources, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha is also involved in back-channel talks with the Congress leadership on this issue.
Meanwhile, AAP’s record in the Haryana parliamentary polls has not been very bright. In 2024, it fought from Kurukshetra in a pact with the Congress, but candidate Sushil Gupta lost to BJP’s Naveen Jindal by 29,021 votes. The constituency has been held by the BJP since 2014.
In the 2019 general elections, the AAP fielded three candidates in alliance with the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) and lost all.
What both party leaders have said so far
AAP’s Haryana state president Sushil Gupta is in favour of going solo in all 90 seats. Kejriwal’s wife Sunita is also campaigning in the state and has projected her husband as the “son of Haryana”, since he was born in Hisar.
Kejriwal is in jail in connection with the Delhi excise policy case of 2021-2022.
Kumari Selja told news agency PTI last month that the AAP and Congress were partners at the national level, but “if you remember, it was decided that in every state, they (partners) can decide on their own. The AAP has gone on record first that they will not have an alliance in the Vidhan Sabha polls… I do think the Congress is strong on its own and we will fight on our own.”
However, a Hooda camp insider told ThePrint earlier that the former chief minister was not opposed to an alliance since this may cause a split in the opposition vote—particularly in seats bordering Punjab where the AAP is in power.
‘Vinesh Phogat decision soon’
Congress is making a concerted bid to dislodge the BJP in Haryana, where the former lost power in 2014, after two straight terms with Hooda as CM. So far, the party has finalised 34 candidates, according to Congress Haryana in-charge Deepak Babaria.
Babaria said the names of 15 shortlisted candidates were being reviewed. Speaking to reporters Monday, he also kept alive the possibility of the Congress fielding Olympian Vinesh Phogat, saying the party would soon make its stand clear.
Babaria added the Congress will release its first list of candidates in two to three days. The nomination process for the elections will start on 5 September and will continue till 12 September.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: No Hooda or Selja ‘quotas’ in Congress’s Haryana list this time. Fewer Jats, no repeat losers
AAP may not subscribe to RG’s proposed move as it wishes to expand its political horizon in Haryana alongside Delhi and Punjab.