Lok Sabha 2024: Delhi Deal Done? AAP May Take 4 Seats, Leaving 3 For Congress

In a significant development for the Indian Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) bloc, the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have struck a deal on seat allocation in the national capital in preparation for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. According to reports, AAP is set to contest on four seats, while the Congress is expected to field candidates on three seats.

Delhi is represented by seven seats in the Lok Sabha. In the 2019 elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured victory in all seven seats, while both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) failed to win a single seat.

The AAP and Congress, both part of the INDIA bloc, had been engaged in discussions regarding a seat-sharing arrangement in Delhi and several other states.

Similar discussions have also taken place for other states, with talks being at an advanced stage, he informed reporters.

Earlier, the AAP had expressed its intention to form a pact with the INDIA bloc ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi, and Goa.

Regarding Punjab, Kejriwal indicated that the party's decision to contest independently is a strategic move aimed at securing victory.

Sandeep Pathak, AAP's national general secretary (organisation), stated that the party has requested eight out of the 26 Lok Sabha seats from Congress in Gujarat. Pathak pointed out that the AAP had won five seats with a total vote share of 13% in the previous Assembly polls in Gujarat, hence, seeking eight Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming elections and offering the remaining 18 to Congress.

Additionally, Pathak offered one Lok Sabha seat out of the eight in Delhi to Congress, emphasizing that even this concession was undeserved based on Congress's past electoral performance. Currently, Congress holds zero Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Delhi.

The AAP has already announced its candidates unilaterally for two seats each in Gujarat and Assam, as well as one seat in Goa.