Congress Alliance with AAP for Haryana Assembly Elections 2024 Could Reshape Political Landscape

Congress appears prepared to form an alliance for the upcoming Haryana assembly elections. Following the strategy employed in the Lok Sabha elections, the India Alliance is likely to contest the Haryana assembly elections as a united front to prevent vote splitting and ensure a decisive victory over the BJP. Current discussions suggest a potential alliance between the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Samajwadi Party (SP) in Haryana. However, seat-sharing arrangements remain a contentious issue. This initiative to form an alliance reportedly began under the guidance of Rahul Gandhi.

Congress Forms Committee for Alliance Talks

Sources from Congress indicate that a three-member committee has been established to facilitate discussions about an alliance in Haryana with the Aam Aadmi Party and Samajwadi Party. The committee will consist of Ajay Maken, the chairman of the screening committee, Deepak Babaria, Haryana Congress in-charge, and Bhupinder Singh Hooda. KC Venugopal, the General Secretary of the Congress organization, will oversee the committee's activities.

Cong Open to Seat Agreement with AAP and SP

According to party insiders, the Congress initially expressed willingness to allocate 3 to 5 seats to the AAP and 1 seat to the SP. However, the AAP is demanding 20 seats, while the SP seeks 10 seats. Formal negotiations between Congress, AAP, and SP have commenced. Reports suggest that this alliance strategy was developed following instructions from Rahul Gandhi. Both KC Venugopal and Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge will closely monitor these negotiations.

Seat Negotiations: Congress and AAP

Later developments suggest that the Congress has agreed to allot 7 seats to the Aam Aadmi Party, although the AAP is still pushing for 10 seats. The AAP justifies its demand based on its participation in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where it contested one seat in alliance with Congress, which encompasses a total of nine assembly seats. Further discussions between Congress leader KC Venugopal and AAP leader Raghav Chadha are expected to take place either on the night of September 3 or the morning of September 4. The focus of these discussions will be to finalize the seat-sharing formula for the alliance.

This proposed alliance could potentially reshape the political landscape in Haryana, depending on the outcome of these seat-sharing negotiations.