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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday ruled out any alliance with Congress in Punjab and stated that his party will contest alone all 14 Lok Sabha seats of the state and Chandigarh, giving another setback to INDIA opposition bloc’s move to put a united fight against BJP-led NDA.
The party, Kejriwal said, will announce candidates for all 14 seats in the next 10-15 days. “I would like to seek your blessings on one more thing. In the next two months, the Lok Sabha elections are scheduled. In this election, Punjab has 13 seats and one in Chandigarh. In total, there are 14 seats. In the next 10-15 days, the Aam Aadmi Party will announce candidates for all the 14 seats. Just like you had supported us two years back, I would like to seek your blessings to let Aam Aadmi Party win in all 14 seats by pressing on the ‘broom’,” Kejriwal said in Chandigarh.
The Delhi CM and AAP convenor made its poll positioning clear during the launch of the Ghar Ghar Ration Scheme in Punjab’s Amloh. “Two years back, you gave us blessings. You gave 92 out of 117 seats to us (in Assembly elections), you created history in Punjab,” he said seeking another thumping mandate this time.
People need to “sweep Punjab” with full force, he said referring to AAP’s symbol. Punjab CM had earlier stated that the AAP would go solo in his state. Punjab regional party, Shiromani Akali Dal is also in talks with the BJP to return to the NDA fold. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress had won eight seats, the SAD and the BJP got two each, and the AAP had won one seat.
The move is a jolt to the INDIA bloc as the TMC has also made it clear that it will not have any truck with opposition parties for the coming polls. The opposition alliance space appears to be shrinking since Rashtriya Lok Dal too is in talks with the BJP for a seat sharing to contest in the Jat dominated western UP belt.
On top of that, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was instrumental in putting together in INDIA bloc, recently made yet another flip by deserting the Mahagathbandhan alliance and joined the BJP.
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