We Know How To Win Solo And Run Govt: Punjab CM Mann After AAP Refuses To Share Seats With Congress In State

Mann highlighted the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) past electoral successes while contesting independently and asserted their capability to form and govern governments unaided.

File Photo Of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday (September 6) firmly dismissed speculations of an alliance with the Congress for the upcoming 2024 elections, citing "uncertainty surrounding the country's situation and the possibility of a name change". Mann highlighted the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) past electoral successes while contesting independently and asserted their capability to form and govern governments unaided.

"...No one knows how the country will be in 2024 when the elections take place. We don't even know what the country's name would be... They have previously changed the names of railway stations and cities, and now they want to change the name of the country... This is a speculative question... The Aam Aadmi Party ran alone in the elections and won 92 seats... This is our third tenure in Delhi. In Gujarat, the AAP ran alone and received 13% of the vote. AAP is India's youngest party to become a national party... We know how to fight and win on our own... We know how to form and run governments on our own," Mann is heard saying in a video posted by news agency ANI on X.

#WATCH | Ludhiana, Punjab: On alliance with Congress for 2024 elections, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann says, "...When the 2024 elections will come, no one knows how the situation of the country will be. We don't even know what the name of the country would be... Earlier they changed… pic.twitter.com/VHfWjR4IM1

— ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2023

Earlier today, Punjab Minister Anmol Gagan Maan, as reported by PTI, declared that the AAP would not engage in an alliance with the Congress in Punjab. Maan emphasised the people's support for Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and their desire for an honest government, firmly rejecting any potential Congress alliance. The AAP intends to contest elections under Mann's leadership in Punjab, maintaining a stance against seat-sharing with the Congress.

"We do not need any alliance with the Congress. We are an honest party. People gave us a strong mandate with 92 seats (out of 117 in the state assembly) and they love Mann's style," the state tourism minister said at a press conference in Chandigarh. 

Likewise, Congress leaders have expressed their opposition to any collaboration with the AAP in next year's Lok Sabha polls. Punjab Congress Chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring revealed plans to contest all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab.

During discussions on the political landscape and a possible alliance with the AAP, leaders at a meeting, including Warring and Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, voiced their resistance to such an alliance. They called upon Warring and Bajwa to convey the sentiments of party members and workers to the Congress high command, according to PTI reports citing party sources.