AAP, Congress Seal Seat-Sharing Deal in 4 States, Go Solo in Punjab

Under a seat-sharing agreement announced jointly on Saturday in four states and one Union territory, the two INDIA bloc allies would go solo in Punjab while the AAP will compete in four Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and leave the remaining three for the Congress.

In addition to Delhi, the parties also achieved agreements in Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, which together account for 46 Lok Sabha seats.

The two parties' agreement to share seats, especially in Delhi, which is run by the AAP, was seen as a victory for the INDIA bloc after two losses due to defections by the RLD headed Bihar Jayant Chaudhary and the JDU of Nitish Kumar. This coincides with the Samajwadi Party and Congress's declaration of seat sharing in Uttar Pradesh.

It was suggested that the two parties' distinct victories in the 13 Lok Sabha seats held by the AAP-ruled province of Punjab were a calculated election move meant to impede the BJP's expansion into the state, which is mostly inhabited by Sikhs.

At a joint media conference by the two INDIA bloc partners, Congress general secretary Mukul Wasnik said that the party will fight the remaining 24 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, leaving only two, Bharuch and Bhavnagar, for the AAP.

Of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, the AAP will only run for one—Kurukshetra—leaving the other seats up for grabs by the Congress.

"The Congress will run for both of Goa's Lok Sabha seats. With the AAP leaders by his side, Wasnik said, "The Congress will also run for the one seat in Chandigarh (UT)."

The Congress will run in Chandni Chowk, Northeast Delhi, Northwest Delhi, and New Delhi, while the AAP will run in East Delhi, West Delhi, South Delhi, and Northeast Delhi.

According to AAP general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak, "the two parties have mutually decided to contest the elections separately in Punjab."

According to Pathak, his party's alliance with the Congress is based on the idea that "country is important and party is secondary."

The AAP won the home-turf Bharuch seat, which angered the late Congress stalwart Ahmed Patel's family, as part of the Gujarat seat-sharing agreement.

We sincerely apologize to our district coordinator for our inability to win the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat via an alliance. I'm sorry you're disappointed. We'll come back together to strengthen @INCIndia. We will not allow the 45-year legacy of @ahmedpatel to go in vain. #bharuchkibeti Mumtaz Patel, a party member and the late leader's daughter, wrote on X.

The BJP has been in control of the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat since the BJP's victories in 1977, 1980, and 1984.

The Congress-AAP seat-sharing agreement was referred to by the BJP as a "opportunistic alliance between two corrupt parties." Junior minister Meenakshi Lekhi said, "The corrupt's chemistry is not going to work in front of 'Sevadaar' (serviceman) Prime Minister Narendra Modi."