The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has formally ended negotiations with the Congress party over a potential alliance for the upcoming Haryana elections. On Monday, AAP announced its candidates for 20 seats, including 12 where Congress had already declared its nominees. This move marks the end of discussions that began with hopes of an alliance but ultimately failed to materialize.
The breakdown in talks came after Congress was reluctant to meet AAP’s demand for at least 10 out of 90 seats. Congress was only willing to allocate 4-5 seats and insisted that AAP contest urban seats identified by the All India Congress Committee (AICC). The negotiations were further complicated by the Congress state unit’s skepticism about AAP’s influence in Haryana.
Despite the failed negotiations, both parties had initially suggested that an alliance was possible. However, Congress’s reluctance, particularly from its state unit, and the increasing tension led to AAP’s decision to announce its candidates.
Congress had earlier released a list of candidates, including nine new additions to its previous list of 32, in a bid to prompt AAP to accept its terms. AAP, in turn, responded by declaring its own list of candidates, signaling a firm stance against the Congress proposal.
AAP Haryana unit chief Sushil Kumar Gupta confirmed that the party would contest all 90 seats and would release another list of 20 candidates before the nomination deadline on September 12. Gupta stated that AAP had made several attempts to reach an agreement, but the lack of response from Congress forced their hand.
On the other hand, Congress seemed unfazed by AAP’s decision to go solo. Senior Congress functionaries argue that the Haryana elections will primarily be a contest between BJP and Congress, with minimal impact from smaller parties.
AAP and Congress had previously collaborated in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Delhi, Haryana, and Gujarat, but contested separately in Punjab. In the 2019 Haryana elections, AAP had contested 46 seats but did not secure any wins.
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