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Regular-article-logo Saturday, 11 May 2024

AAP list shuts door on Cong

Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken had then denied any such tie-up plans, leading to a war of tweets with AAP leaders

Our Special Correspondent New Delhi Published 14.10.18, 09:40 PM
Ajay Maken

Ajay Maken File picture

The Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday ended any speculation about a possible alliance with the Congress for the general election, completing its list of constituency-in-charges — or projected candidates — for Delhi’s Lok Sabha seats.

The party, which holds 66 of Delhi’s 70 Assembly seats, had in June declared constituency-in-charges for only five of the seven parliamentary seats in the capital, fuelling talk about a tie-up with the Congress.

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Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken had then denied any such tie-up plans, leading to a war of tweets with AAP leaders.

On Sunday, the AAP’s Delhi convener, Gopal Rai, announced the constituency-in-charges for the two remaining Delhi seats. He said the party’s trade wing head Brijesh Goyal, who has been spearheading a yearlong agitation by traders against the widespread sealing of Delhi’s markets under apex court orders, would lead the campaign in New Delhi.

His counterpart in West Delhi would be Rajpal Solanki, an industrialist who runs a chain of schools and is a political novice.

Rai said that former Union minister Yashwant Sinha, who has left the BJP, had declined to contest from New Delhi, ostensibly to campaign against his former party across India. Rai denied any talks with dissident BJP parliamentarian Shatrughan Sinha.

AAP sources had hoped to force the Congress’s hand into either sticking to two seats or not contesting in Delhi at all — in which event the AAP would not have contested in Congress-ruled Punjab, where it leads the Opposition.

The Congress was reportedly not interested in any talks for a situation in which it would be left with less than three seats in Delhi.

Last week, AAP leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced that his party would contest all the seats in Punjab.

All seven constituency-in-charges in Delhi will launch a drive with Kejriwal on Monday to collect donations for the party. All the seats in Delhi are currently held by the BJP.

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