Haryana elections: Rahul Gandhi eyes INDIA alliance; is AAP ready?

AAP MP Sanjay Singh welcomed Rahul Gandhi's proposed Haryana alliance but said that it needs discussion with jailed AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal

Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh on Tuesday welcomed Rahul Gandhi’s reported pitch for an alliance in the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections but said that it would have to be discussed with jailed party convener Arvind Kejriwal first.

"We welcome it. Our priority is to defeat the BJP... Our Haryana in-charge Sandeep Pathak and Sushil Gupta will discuss it and take a final decision and inform Arvind Kejriwal about it and a decision will be taken accordingly," said Sanjay Singh.

Singh’s statement followed after media reports emerged that Rahul has asked the party’s Haryana leaders to explore an alliance with AAP. During the party's Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting held in the national capital on Monday, Rahul emphasised that the party should work to ensure that the alliance's votes remain unified.
 

However, the AAP had earlier said that the party would contest the polls alone on all 90 seats. The party's ambitious bid comes as it seeks to boost its presence as a national party. During the last Haryana polls, AAP’s vote share was recorded less than Nota (none of the above).

Amid the buzz, Congress’ prominent face in Haryana and former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that they can only give three to four seats to the AAP, the ANI report added.

Will Congress field Vinesh Phogat?

In the meeting, the Congress held talks over the candidature in all 90 constituencies. A total of seats have been finalised but 41 remain undecided.

Amid reports that the Congress may field wrestler Vinesh Phogat, AICC in-charge of Haryana Deepak Babaria said that the party will release its list in the next few days. “We will clarify about Vinesh Phogat also….,” he noted.