Forced to fight alone but open to alliance: PC Chacko

New Delhi: The Congress on Friday announced that it had decided to go alone in the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi after talks of an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party failed over the latter’s “impractical” demand of seeking an alliance in Haryana too.

“We are compelled to fight on our own and fight alone in Delhi,” party general secrertary in-charge of Delhi P.C. Chacko told the media.

He said that while the Congress was ready for an alliance in Delhi and had agreed to the formula of a 4:3 arrangement going by the vote share the two parties had, the political situation was different in other states like Haryana. “It (alliance in Haryana) is not feasible and practical”.

The party, which has already finalised the names of four candidates out of seven in the capital, is likely to announce the names of the rest three in a “day or two”. However, Mr Chacko was quick to add that the Congress is open to alliance even now in Delhi if the AAP was ready.

“I would like to repeat that in spite of the reservations the Congress leaders of Delhi had, we thought that it is political necessity at the national level that we should be able to come to understanding and defeat BJP wherever it is possible,” he said.  

The Congress’s reaction came hours after AAP’s Gopal Rai said that the Jananayak Janata Party (JJP) has entered into an alliance in Haryana for Lok Sabha elections. “JJP will contest on seven seats and AAP will contest on three seats in Haryana,” Mr Rai said.

The JJP was launched by former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala’s grandson Dushyant Chautala, following a power struggle in the state’s main opposition INLD last year.

For an alliance with the grand old party, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s party demanded Gurgaon, Faridabad and Karnal seats — three Haryana constituencies in the National Capital Region (NCR) — in return for giving up on major Delhi seats.

However, sources said there was still a slim chance of an alliance as the AAP might offer a 5:2 seat sharing formula in Delhi, where the party would contest from five seats and the Congress from two seats.

Uncertainty over alliance between the AAP and the Congress has been  continuing for weeks now with the former demanding an alliance on  33 seats of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Goa and Chandigarh. “We want alliance on all 33 seats with the Congress and not three seats in Delhi, We are capable of defeating the BJP and the Congress on our own in Delhi. If an alliance has to be there, it has to be on 33 seats,” Mr Rai said.