Lok Sabha elections 2019: AAP, Congress likely to begin tie-up talks soon

New Delhi, Mar 17: With Lok Sabha elections 2019 round the corner, political parties are conducting surveys among people and their party workers to judge what issues will work this election season.

A report on NDTV suggested an internal survey in Congress would play a key role in changing the minds of state leaders amid uncertainty over a Congress-Aam Aadmi Party alliance in Delhi for the Lok Sabha elections 2019.

The survey by Congress reportedly showed that the BJP with 35 per cent vote share in Delhi, followed by AAP at 28% and Congress at 22%. The results of the Delhi Congress's internal survey which is said to confidential, seeking the opinion of booth-level workers, were submitted to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, who is likely to take a final call in the next two or three days on a seat-sharing arrangement between the two parties in the national capital.

"After party president Rahul Gandhi agreed to the views of the state unit and decided not to ally with AAP for upcoming general elections, senior central leaders of the party met Rahul Gandhi and asked him to reconsider the decision," a leader linked to the Delhi Congress Pradesh Committee was quoted in NDTV.

Meanwhile, Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit appeared to be isolated over the issue of alliance with AAP for Lok Sabha polls, as AICC in-charge PC Chacko on Friday claimed that "many" in the party were in favour of such up tie-up. He, however, said that a final call on the issue of alliance with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi will be taken by the Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

Senior leaders of the AAP on Friday said it has heard that the Congress's internal survey found "overwhelming" support to an alliance between the two parties. A party leader said the seat-sharing could be four for AAP and three of Congress, without specifying the names of the parliamentary constituencies.

The seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi were won by the BJP in the last general assembly polls.

In 2013, AAP polled less votes than the BJP but briefly formed a government in a post-poll coalition with the Congress. In 2014, AAP improved to 33% but the BJP jumped to 47% and swept all 7 Lok Sabha seats. In 2015, AAP shot up to 54% to sweep 67 of the 70 Assembly seats.

In the 2017 Assembly elections, AAP remained at 24% and won 20 seats to emerge principal Opposition against the Congress (38%, 77 seats) while SAD-BJP slipped to 29% and 18 seats.

Elections to the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi will be held on May 12, the sixth stage of the seven-phase poll exercise which is set to commence on April 11. The results will be declared with the rest of the country on May 23.