AAP, Cong resume talks to discuss seat-sharing formula for Delhi

The Congress and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party have resumed talks to discuss the seat-sharing formula for the seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital, sources said Thursday.

The speculation of a tie-up between both the parties got a boost after AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh met All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Delhi P C Chacko Wednesday evening.

The ruling AAP has proposed to give two seats to the Congress, which has instead demanded three - New Delhi, Chandni Chowk and North East Delhi, sources in both the parties claimed.

"The two leaders discussed the seat-sharing formula, with the AAP offering two seats to the Congress," a source said.

 

Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit, however, at a party programme, gave a cryptic reply showing her reservation against alliance with the AAP.

"Rest assured we will remain as we are," Dikshit said when asked about possibility of the Congress's alliance with the AAP for the Lok Sabha polls.

Chacko will convey the offer from the AAP to Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who will take a final call on the issue in the next few days, the source said.

Chacko refused to comment on the issue, saying the decision on the alliance will be conveyed to the media when it is taken by Gandhi.

The rationale behind an alliance between the two parties is that together they polled more votes than the BJP, which swept the 2014 general elections winning all the seven seats in Delhi.

The AAP has been batting for a tie-up, with the Congress citing the need to defeat the BJP and replace the Modi government in the national interest.

However, the Delhi Congress is a divided house, with its president Dikshit and her three working presidents, along with some other leaders, opposing the tie-up with the ruling party.

Dikshit met Gandhi over the issue twice and conveyed her message to him.

After a meeting with Gandhi last month, she claimed there was "unanimity" in the party against an alliance with the AAP.

Rajesh Lilothia, working president of the Delhi Congress, said the alliance will "ruin" the party in Delhi and this stand was clearly stated by Dikshit in her meeting with Gandhi on April 2.