Congress has more or less ruled out an alliance, says Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi, Feb 14: The Congress has "more or less" ruled out an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday, a day after he had participated in a meeting with opposition leaders, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

Responding to a question on an alliance with the Congress, he said it has "more or less ruled out the alliance (with AAP)".

Asked whether the AAP was more eager for an alliance with the Congress, he said the BJP would benefit in a three-cornered contest.

Moving forward on a united anti-BJP front for the Lok Sabha elections, top opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee Wednesday agreed to work together to prepare a common minimum programme to oust the Modi government and to consider forging a pre-poll alliance.

The meeting, hosted by NCP president Sharad Pawar at his residence here, also saw Congress chief Gandhi and Kejriwal coming together for the first time.

Mamata Banerjee announced that the opposition parties had decided on a pre-poll alliance to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP. On the question of an alliance in Bengal and Delhi, she said it has "not been decided yet".

PTI