Lok Sabha elections 2019: Cong- AAP alliance? Rahul Gandhi to discuss tie-up in Delhi

New Delhi, Mar 05: In a major political development, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday called a meeting of its Delhi leaders to discuss the possibilities of an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The move comes days after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced the list of six candidates it would be fielding from Delhi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The announcement was made by Delhi AAP convenor Gopal Rai, who also said that the party will not be entering into an alliance with the Congress.

Rai claimed that on February 13, Congress President Rahul Gandhi had conveyed to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal that a coalition wouldn't take shape in Delhi due to the reluctance of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee leaders.

Kejriwal has been saying that AAP was tired of trying to convince the Congress for an alliance to ensure that anti-BJP votes do not get split, thereby benefiting the ruling party at the Centre.

According to the reports the formula to be suggested would be that the parties would contest three seats each, which the 7th would be given to a consensus candidate. The APP is unlikely to accept this offer as it cites the number of MLAs it has in the Delhi assembly.

The Congress however maintains that this alliance would be restricted only to Delhi. The AAP on the other hand that the alliance extends to Punjab, Goa and Haryana. Several Congress leaders are opposed to this idea.

Delhi has seven Parliamentary seats, all of which were bagged by the BJP in the 2014 polls. AAP hasn't announced any name for the West Delhi seat so far.