Haryana Polls: Congress Holds Meet For Seat-Sharing Talks With AAP, Kejriwal's Party Demanding 10 Seats

Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha and Congress' KC Venugopal have already held two rounds of talks and are likely to meet again in a day or two.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi with party President Mallikarjun Kharge and party MP K C Venugopal during meeting with party leaders in New Delhi.

Source : PTI

Amid the seat-sharing talks with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Congress party held a meeting of the Central Election Committee (CEC) for the upcoming assembly elections in Haryana.

Apart from the AAP, the grand-old party is likely to ally with the Samajwadi Party (SP) and CPM for the assembly polls, sources told ABP Live.

Deepak Babaria, Congress in-charge of Haryana, said that the seat-sharing talks with AAP is at a preliminary stage.  

"The talks with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) regarding alliance is in a very primitive mode (preliminary stage). We are exploring it. If there is any further development in the next 2-3 days, we will let you know," Deepak Babaria told reporters after a meeting of Congress leaders in the national capital.

#WATCH | Congress CEC meeting for Haryana Assembly polls underway at AICC HQ in Delhi. Party's national president Mallikarjun Kharge, LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary KC Venugopal, AICC in-charge of Haryana Deepak Babaria, LoP in State Assembly and former CM… pic.twitter.com/kQbJ2XkJiv

— ANI (@ANI) September 3, 2024

Congress sources earlier today said AAP is likely to get 5 seats, while the SP and the CPIM are likely to get one seat each.

Meanwhile, AAP insiders said that efforts to forge a consensus have gained momentum with the two parties already in talks over a seat-sharing arrangement. 

While Kejriwal's party is demanding 10 seats to contest out of 90, the Congress is ready to give only seven seats, AAP sources told PTI.

Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha and Congress' KC Venugopal have already held two rounds of talks and are likely to meet again in a day or two.

In the Congress meeting held earlier today, Babaria said that the party discussed candidates on 32 seats of the 41 seats.

Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary KC Venugopal, AICC in-charge of Haryana Deepak Babaria, LoP in State Assembly and former CM Bhupinder Hooda attended the party meeting regarding the Haryana polls.

"Earlier, (discussions on) 34 seats were finalised. Today 32 of the 41 seats have been finalised...No specific discussions on specific seats were held. Suggestions were put forth regarding candidates on their (Randeep Surjewala and Kumari Selja) seats," he said.

Babaria had earlier said that the candidates' list is expected to come on Thursday. As per reports, the CEC of the Congress has cleared the names of 34 candidates on Monday for the election. The list included 22 sitting Haryana MLAs.

Congress Forms Committee For Pending Seats

Congress also announced the formation of a sub-committee for the remaining pending seats in Haryana. The committee will consists of members including: Madhusudan Mistry, Ajay Maken and Deepak Babaria.

 

A meeting of the committee is scheduled to be held on Thursday and thre three senior leaders of the state will be called separately for discussions.

 

The committee will meet Bhupinder Hooda, Randeep Surjewala and Kumari Selja. More than 24 seats have been listed as pending, consensus yet to be made on those seats by the party's CEC, ANI quoted sources as saying. 

Meanwhile, Deepak Babaria on Tuesday also spoke on the speculations over athlete Vinesh Phogat, who has announced contesting the state polls. "As per my understanding, you will have clarity over this tomorrow," Babaria said. Phogat has so far not revealed which seat she would contest on or the party she would be joining.

The Haryana assembly election will be held on October 5, while the counting will be done on October 8.