After alliance deal with Congress, AAP names 4 Delhi Lok Sabha candidates

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), on Tuesday, announced its candidates for the four Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, on which the party is contesting the upcoming elections. Deviating from the norm, the party has decided to field Kondli MLA Kuldeep Kumar, who comes from SC category, on the East Delhi general seat.

Delhi Minister Gopal Rai announced the candidates in a press conference, following the party's top unit Political Affairs Committee’s key meeting held under Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal earlier today.

Rai called the decision to field Kumar from East Delhi as “historic.” He also said that the AAP has decided to field senior leader Somnath Bharti from the New Delhi constituency, Sahiram Pehelwan from South Delhi and former MP Mahabal Mishra from the West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency.

 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had swept all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi in 2019.

AAP will contest on Kurukshetra seat in Haryana

The AAP also declared former Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Gupta its candidate from Kurukshetra in Haryana.

The development followed two days after INDIA bloc allies, the AAP and the Congress, sealed a seat sharing deal in the national capital. The Congress will field candidates from the remaining three seats - Chandni Chowk, North East and North West Delhi in the elections.

In Haryana, the AAP will contest only in Kurukshetra while the Congress will bet on the remaining eight seats as part of the deal. Meanwhile, in Goa, the Congress will contest from both the Lok Sabha seats, it was announced on Sunday.

AAP-Congress deal after much delay

The deal was finalised after weeks long deliberations between the AAP and the Congress, which is the largest pan India party in the INDIA alliance of 26 non-BJP parties. Notably, the regional differences and hesitation over seat sharing between the Congress and other Opposition parties has been quite apparent lately.

The INDIA parties have time and again have expressed that the seat sharing should be “merit” based as parties look at past performances while trying to cement their position in their respective turf.

Notably, the AAP-Congress deal followed a few days after Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance was finalised in Uttar Pradesh following a prolonged deadlock. The Congress has agreed to fight on 17 seats out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state.