The AAP will contest the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections on its own, according to its state unit vice-president Anurag Dhanda, who added that the party has a comprehensive organisational structure in place and would shortly announce village-level committees, news agency PTI reported. Dhanda, on the other hand, stated that there has been no talk on seat sharing among INDIA opposition alliance members for the Lok Sabha election. "For the Assembly polls, there will be no compromise, no tie-up and the AAP will contest all 90 seats on its own. For the Lok Sabha, we will abide by the orders of the party high-command," he informed media.
The leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was asked about senior Congress politician Bhupinder Singh Hooda's recent claims that his party is capable of winning both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections on its own. He also stated that the Congress will run for all ten Lok Sabha seats in Haryana in the upcoming general election.
According to the former Haryanca chief minister, the AAP has no presence in the state.
Various opposition parties have joined together to establish the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) in order to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The coalition also includes the AAP.
"When Bhupinder Hooda says the Congress is capable and asks on what basis the AAP is asking for seats, he should remember that the father-son duo (Bhupinder Hooda and his son Deepender Hooda) had lost both the Sonipat and Rohtak (Lok Sabha) seats (in the 2019 polls). On what basis is he now making claims for these seats? "Whether there will be seat sharing or not is not for him to decide. He is neither a member of the coordination committee, which has the power to decide on seat sharing between the INDIA bloc constituents, nor does he hold any position in the Congress high-command by virtue of which he can give directions to his party's state unit," Dhanda was quoted by PTI in its report.
He stated that "Hooda is preparing the ground to leave the Congress and join the BJP".
He stated that the components of the opposition alliance will make a decision on seat distribution for the Lok Sabha elections at the proper time.
Simultaneously, Dhanda stated that the AAP has begun preparations for all 90 Assembly and 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana.
"We have already announced the organisational structure in the districts, at the Assembly constituency level, at the block level and at the circle level. We will announce committees for every village next month. Later, we will announce our organisational structure for every booth. So the AAP is prepared. Whatever will be the orders of the high-command, we will obey," he added.
Meanwhile, a day after three women were reportedly raped in front of their family members in Panipat by four unidentified males, Dhanda criticised the BJP-led Haryana government for the "deteriorating" law-and-order situation.
An sick lady was slain and her husband was robbed in a separate incident that occurred in the early hours of Thursday, around a kilometre distant from where the gang rape was reported.
"Throughout the night, a gang goes on a rampage and police are clueless. This reflects the law-and-order situation in the state," Dhanda said.
He claimed that in recent weeks, Panipat has seen a spike in crime, including murder, kidnapping, and snatching.
According to the AAP leader, Haryana's crime rate has been increasing, and the state ranks second in the country in terms of murder and rape cases.
According to him, Haryana has become a "safe haven" for criminals.
Dhanda also slammed the BJP-led administration, claiming that after being charged with sexual harassment by police, minister Sandeep Singh was not removed from the state cabinet.
"Even after being chargesheeted in a sexual harassment case, Sandeep Singh continues to be a minister. The chief minister has not removed him. What signal does it send out?" he asked.