After sealing the deal in UP, Congress eyes 'package' seat-sharing pact with AAP

New Delhi: After clinching the alliance talks in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress is burning midnight oil to finalise the seat sharing arrangement with AAP in Delhi as well as states like Haryana and Gujarat and announcement could come as early as Thursday.

The Bihar seat arrangement is likely to be announced before Rahul Gandhi, Lalu Prasad, Sitaram Yechury, D Raja and Dipankar Bhattacharya hold a joint rally in Patna on March 3. Jharkhand seat sharing arrangement is also likely to be announced soon.

The UP announcement and subsequent forward movement in negotiations in other states came even after the I.N.D.I.A bloc suffered setbacks in the form of JD(U) and RLD leaving the coalition and Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress refusing to enter into an alliance with Congress in West Bengal.

Also, there is still no clarity on the negotiations in Jammu and Kashmir where National Conference patriarch Farooq Abdullah sang a different tone, indicating that he is not averse to align with NDA. However, his son Omar Abdullah said they still remain part of the Opposition bloc while Mehbooba Mufti also denied speculation about PDP leaving the coalition.

Sources said there are some final touches to be given to the seat sharing arrangement between Congress and AAP and it would come as a “package”, which means that it is not just related to Delhi but it will have the seat arrangements for Chandigarh, Haryana and Gujarat.

Congress is likely to get Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat while it may leave one seat in Haryana and 2-3 in Gujarat for the AAP. Sources did not confirm what is the final decision on Bharuch seat in Gujarat where both the AAP and the Congress are staking claim.

In Delhi, sources said, there is no finality on the seats on which both the parties are fighting. While there is speculation that Congress may settle for two out of seven seats, a section in the Congress argues that the party should not settle for less than three seats.

A senior leader involved in the negotiations said that the final announcement on Congress-AAP alliance may come either on Thursday or Friday.

The clinching of deal comes days after AAP said that the Congress does not deserve even one seat in Delhi if one takes its electoral performance in Lok Sabha, Assembly and municipal polls.