The Congress has announced its intention to contest all Lok Sabha seats in Punjab after talks with the Aam Aadmi Party fell through. The assertion came mere hours after the Arvind Kejriwal -led party said it would be fighting the polls solo in the nothern state and neighbouring Chandigarh. Leaders from both parties however reiterated their commitment towards the INDIA bloc in spite of recent developments.
“Mallikarjun Kharge has also said today and our party has also said to make preparations on all 13 seats. Our state unit president and LoP have been saying from the beginning that we will contest all on (Lok Sabha seats of Punjab)…” said Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla on Sunday evening.
“I have been saying this since a year ago that we are the main opposition… and we are capable of fighting elections on our own and today this has been proven…” added Punjab Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa.
Meanwhile the AAP insisted in a recent statement that local units of both parties were in favour of fighting the elections separately in Punjab. The announcement dealt a fresh blow to the increasingly shaky Opposition alliance — the latest in a string of political separations.
AAP has been unilaterally announcing its Lok Sabha candidates for different states despite being a constituent of the INDIA bloc. Earlier this week, the party declared Lok Sabha candidates for three seats in Assam while expressing dissatisfaction over lingering seat-sharing talks with the Congress. Prior to that Kejriwal had named Chaitar Vasava as the AAP candidate in the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat during his visit to Gujarat in January.
Party leaders however said talks were underway in other states. The Kejriwal-led grouping had earlier called for an alliance with the Congress in Delhi, Gujarat, Goa and Haryana.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Published: 11 Feb 2024, 07:51 PM IST
