AAP to go it alone in 2024 Haryana Assembly polls, says Anurag Dhanda

The AAP will fight the 2024 Haryana Assembly polls on its own, its state unit vice-president Anurag Dhanda said on Friday, saying the party has a complete organisational structure ready and will soon announce its village-level committees too.

Dhanda, however, said for the Lok Sabha election, there has been no discussion on seat sharing among the INDIA opposition bloc members yet.

"For the Assembly polls, there will be no compromise, no tie-up and the AAP will contest all 90 seats on its own. For the Lok Sabha, we will abide by the orders of the party high-command," he told reporters here.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was asked about senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda's recent remarks that his party is capable of winning both the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls on its own. He had also said the Congress will contest all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana in next year's general election.

The former Haryana chief minister had claimed that the AAP has no base in the state.

Several opposition parties have formed the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unitedly in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The AAP is also part of the alliance.

"When Bhupinder Hooda says the Congress is capable and asks on what basis the AAP is asking for seats, he should remember that the father-son duo (Bhupinder Hooda and his son Deepender Hooda) had lost both the Sonipat and Rohtak (Lok Sabha) seats (in the 2019 polls). On what basis is he now making claims for these seats?

"Whether there will be seat sharing or not is not for him to decide. He is neither a member of the coordination committee, which has the power to decide on seat sharing between the INDIA bloc constituents, nor does he hold any position in the Congress high-command by virtue of which he can give directions to his party's state unit," Dhanda said.

He claimed that "Hooda is preparing the ground to leave the Congress and join the BJP".

As far as seat sharing for the Lok Sabha polls is concerned, the constituents of the opposition bloc will take a call at an appropriate time, he said.

At the same time, Dhanda said the AAP has made preparations for all the 90 Assembly and 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana.

"We have already announced the organisational structure in the districts, at the Assembly constituency level, at the block level and at the circle level. We will announce committees for every village next month. Later, we will announce our organisational structure for every booth. So the AAP is prepared. Whatever will be the orders of the high-command, we will obey," he added.

Meanwhile, a day after three women were allegedly raped by four unidentified men in front of their family members in Panipat, Dhanda slammed the BJP-led Haryana government over the "deteriorating" law-and-order situation.

In a separate incident, which also took place in the early hours of Thursday about a kilometre away from the spot from where the gang rape was reported, an ailing woman was killed, while her husband was robbed.

"Throughout the night, a gang goes on a rampage and police are clueless. This reflects the law-and-order situation in the state," Dhanda said.

He said in recent weeks, Panipat alone has witnessed a series of incidents of crime, including murder, kidnapping and snatching.

The AAP leader claimed that the crime graph has been on the rise in Haryana and as far as murder and rape cases are concerned, the state occupies the number two spot in the country.

Haryana has become a "safe haven" for criminals, he said.

Dhanda also took a dig at the BJP-led government, saying even after being chargesheeted by police in a sexual harassment case, minister Sandeep Singh has not been removed from the state cabinet.

"Even after being chargesheeted in a sexual harassment case, Sandeep Singh continues to be a minister. The chief minister has not removed him. What signal does it send out?" he asked.