AAP announces candidates for all 7 seats in Delhi, alliance with Congress ruled out

New Delhi, Mar 19: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday announced candidates for all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi for the upcoming general elections, thereby ruling out any possibility of alliance with the Congress, said reports.

Leaders from both the parties have sent mixed signals over the aliance for close to a month now. First, it was Kejriwal who said that AAP wanted alliance, but Congress refrained from it.

Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit vehemently opposed alliance but finally told that she would abide by whatever the high command decides. Some Congress leaders then hinted that they were in favour of alliance with AAP. Reports say that Congress leadership was in talks with AAP leaders and senior leaders within the party were trying to convince Delhi Congress leaders for an alliance with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party.

Both parties have, however, maintained that defeating the BJP remained primary motive of both the parties.

Earlier today, Nationalist Congress Party Sharad Pawar stepped in and tried to bring Congress and Aam Aadmi Party. Pawar also reached out to AAP's Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh soon after.

Media reports surfaced on Monday that Dikshit, a three-time chief minister whose rule ended with AAP's rise in Delhi, warned in a letter to Congress President Rahul Gandhi informing him that a tie up with the AAP would harm Congress' prospects in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.