Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha on Saturday expressed optimism that the party might fianlise a seat-sharing deal in Haryana ahead of the assembly polls. The AAP leader's remarks came after a meeting with AICC in-charge of Haryana Deepak Babaria at the residence of Telangana minister Uttam Kumar Reddy today. The Congress leader said that the party was offering "good small numbers" of seats to the AAP.
"I hope it (alliance/seat sharing) will be finalised. Umeed pe duniya kaayam hai [ The world stands on hope]," Raghav Chadha stated.
Following the meeting, Congress leader Babaria also revealed that negotiations are underway between the two parties and that the INDIA bloc partners might reach a deal by Sunday, September 8. "Negotiations are going on, we will see where adjustments can be made," news agency IANS quoted him as saying.
Without divulging the exact figures, the state Congress in-charge also said that the party was offering "good small numbers" of seats to the AAP in Haryana. "Congress has given me this responsibility, and this was my second or third meeting with Raghav Chadha in the last two days. We are exchanging the locations and numbers and we hope that results will come out in two days. It depends, if it will be a win-win situation for both Congress and AAP then we will go into a coalition, I am trying for that. It may happen (changes in the names of already declared candidates)," Babaria said.
On Friday, Raghav Chadha said that AAP and Congress were engaged in last-minute negotiations before the elections keeping in mind the interest of Haryana. He added that nothing ''conclusive'', however, had been reached yet on pre-poll alliance.
"Talks are going on. For the interest of Haryana, its people as well as the country, we are exploring this coalition. We are hopeful and making all efforts to reach a common ground," Chadha said.
Earlier today, AAP MP and General Secretary Sandeep Pathak said that the party was just awaiting orders from the leadership to announce candidates for the Haryana elections in October.
"Whatever information you all have, I also have the same information, Raghavji would have briefed you all yesterday. But on behalf of the party, volunteers, and leadership of the party I can say that we are ready to conetst elections with full strength everywhere, on every seat. Whoever underestimates us will regret it in future," Pathak stated.
BJP Slams AAP-Congress Amid Pre-Poll Alliance Talks
Amid talks to form a coalition in Haryana, BJP national spokesperson Shezad Poonawalla slammed both AAP and Congress saying that their alliance lacks vision and mission and shows their desparation in Haryana. He said that the same parties are pitted against each other in Delhi and Punjab but their efforts to reach a seat-sharing deal in Haryana shows that they are unsure of people's support in the state.
"INDI alliance has no mission and vision. They have their own ambitions only. They want to protect their corruption. That's why they form an alliance in some places, however, it breaks later on. In Punjab, AAP and Congress are against each other. In Delhi, they were together earlier. And now there are uncertainties (between AAP and Congress) in Haryana...It shows their desperation in Haryana. Political parties standing against each other in Haryana are also having to come together. It means they have no surety of people's support in Haryana if they contest the elections alone," Poonawalla said.
The pre-poll coalition talks between the two parties picked up pace after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed desire to align like-minded parties to win over BJP in Haryana. He had asked Haryana state leaders and in-charges to explore the possibility of securing an alliance with AAP to avoid the divison of votes. Rahul Gandhi also asked the party leaders to talk with AAP in order to portray the opposition's INDIA bloc as united in the poll-bound state.