Haryana Assembly Elections: AAP's '90 Seats' Ultimatum To Congress Amid Tussle Over Alliance

Haryana Assembly Polls: As the date of filing nominations in the Haryana Assembly elections inches closer, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has mounted pressure on the Congress for an alliance in the state. The AAP's Haryana unit chief, Sushil Gupta, said on Monday that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party will release the names of candidates from all 90 seats if the deal is not finalised by the evening.

The last date for filing nominations for the Haryana election is September 12. Polling is scheduled to be held on October 5. The talks between the two parties, members of opposition bloc INDIA, have been stuck over the number of seats to be contested by the latter, with the AAP demanding 10 seats and the Congress offering five, sources in the AAP told news agency PTI.

Speaking to PTI, Gupta said that videos show that every AAP worker in Haryana is ready to strongly contest all the 90 Assembly seats. On being asked about the grand old party's response to the AAP regarding an alliance, he said, "We will release the list of candidates for the 90 seats by the evening.".

AAP Waiting For Response But Nothing Has Come So Far, Says Gupta

Gupta said the AAP has been waiting for a response from the Congress, but nothing has come so far. Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said party leaders, including Gupta and general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak, have already stated that the process of candidate finalisation has been completed and as soon as an approval comes from Kejriwal, the national convenor of the party, it will contest the election.

Singh echoed Gupta and said as the last date for filing nominations is September 12, there is not much time left.

AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, who has been holding talks with Congress leaders over a prospective alliance, said on Sunday that both parties are trying to form a coalition for the Haryana polls, keeping aside their individual aspirations.

He said while the parties are yet to reach a consensus on an alliance, the talks are progressing in a "positive" direction, and they are hopeful of a good outcome. He, however, added that the AAP will not proceed with an alliance "if there is no win-win situation." Gupta asserted that the AAP is "fully capable" of uprooting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Haryana.

(With PTI Inputs)