Congress & AAP might share seats in Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana

New Delhi, Feb 22 (PTI) The Congress and AAP are likely to have a seat-sharing pact in Delhi, Gujarat and Haryana, and the decision is likely to be made public very soon, top sources said here on Thursday.

Talks between AAP and the Congress over seat sharing in Delhi and some other states for the Lok Sabha polls are in final stages, and sources said the two sides are likely to announce their tie-up soon.

Both sides have agreed on the seats to be contested by each party, they said.

AAP will field candidates from the South Delhi, West Delhi, North West Delhi and New Delhi seats, while the Congress will contest from the Chandni Chowk, East Delhi and North East Delhi constituencies, the sources in AAP said.

All the seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital are currently held by the BJP.

"The alliance between AAP and the Congress in Delhi is on the verge of finalisation. The two parties may make an official announcement in a day or two," senior AAP leader and Delhi Minister Atishi said in a press conference.

Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh Lovely said that the two parties are strong constituents of the INDIA bloc.

"The India bloc will contest the Lok Sabha elections strongly not only in Delhi, but the whole country," he told reporters.

The Congress has also decided to give one seat to AAP in Haryana and two in Gujarat. While the Haryana seat is likely to be either Gurugram or Faridabad, those in Gujarat include Bharuch and Bhavnagar.

Former senior party leader Ahmed Patel's son and daughter were the contenders for the Bharuch seat.

AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said on Wednesday that the talks over the alliance were delayed and hinted at fresh developments in the next one or two days.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Patel's son Faisal has not taken the move kindly and said in a post in Gujarati that if the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat is allotted to AAP, neither he nor the "conscientious workers" of the Congress will support the AAP candidate.

Earlier this month, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak declared Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas as the party candidate from the South Goa Lok Sabha seat.

He also declared AAP's Dediapada MLA Chaitar Vasava as the party's candidate from the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat and Botad MLA Umeshbhai Makwana from the Bhavnagar seat in Gujarat.

Previously, the party announced its three Lok Sabha candidates in Assam - Manoj Dhanowar from Dibrugarh, Bhaben Chowdhury from Guwahati and Rishi Raj from Sonitpur constituencies.

The Lok Sabha polls are likely to be held in April-May.