AAP- Congress alliance in offing

New Delhi, March 27: After much dilly-dallying, the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have almost finalised the terms of alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The sources say that the announcement of the alliance can be made as early as this week.

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal had been expressing keenness on an alliance with the Congress for 'defeating the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo' in the May 12 polls in the Capital.

It's notable that reports of Congress and AAP alliance were doing the rounds before the Lok Sabha elections schedule was announced.

The seat-sharing formula couldn't be finalised because the AAP, with a majority in assembly seats (66) in Delhi, was demanding five seats for self and was ready to give two for the Congress in Delhi, say sources.

Delhi has seven seats currently represented by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The Congress was not ready for the AAP's offer and had offered a '3+3+1' model: three seats each for both the parties and one for a celebrity.

The AAP was ready for this offer provided the Congress gives it two seats each in Punjab and Haryana. Punjab has 13 and Haryana 10 parliamentary seats.

Sources tell One India that the likely alliance with the AAP will take a final shape as the former Delhi Chief Minister and Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee President Sheila Dikshit has given up her resistance.

Last month, Dikshit had ruled out chances of an alliance with the AAP in Delhi. But since then she has had two meetings with Rahul Gandhi over this issue.

Dikshit and other Congress leaders were opposed to Lok Sabha alliance with the AAP in Delhi because it would mean sharing the burden of anti-incumbency against Kejriwal government, more so when the Delhi Assembly elections are scheduled within months after the general elections.

Former DPCC chief Ajay Maken and Congress' Delhi in-charge PC Chacko have been pressing for alliance with the AAP in Delhi.

However, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is still not ready to embrace Kejriwal's party in Punjab, say sources.

The AAP is facing internal crisis in Punjab that had given four Lok Sabha seats to it in 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Two rebel AAP leaders-Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira and Jaitu MLA Baldev Singh, besides senior lawyer H S Phoolka - quit the party recently.

The sources say that the Congress has agreed to give one or two seats to the AAP in Haryana and both the parties are likely to contest three seats each in Delhi and on one seat a celebrity will be fielded who will contest on the Congress symbol.