After Punjab, Congress rules out alliance with AAP in Haryana for 2024 Lok Sabha polls

The political rift between the two key allies of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) bloc - the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) - seems to have widened further with respect to seat sharing ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. After the two parties ruled out a partnership in Punjab, now former Haryana chief minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda asserted that the party is capable of winning the elections on its own and will fight all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state in next year's parliamentary election.

The Congress leader was responding to a question where he was asked if Congress is considering stitching up another coalition with any of the alliance parties, such as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has a presence in Haryana too, for the upcoming polls.

"The Congress will fight for all 10 Lok Sabha seats alone," Hooda asserted.

Asked if there could be a tie-up with the AAP for the assembly elections, Hooda said, "In Haryana, the Congress is capable of fighting on its own."

Hooda also said, "The AAP fought the Adampur assembly bypolls last year, where they forfeited security. There should be a basis to claim a seat." Hooda, who is the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, claimed that the people of Haryana have made up their minds to form a Congress government in 2024.

AAP responds 

The Aam Aadmi Party exuded confidence and said it would fight for all the seats in the Haryana Assembly polls, which are scheduled to take place next year.

AAP MP Sandeep Pathak said, "The Vidhan Sabha elections will be held in Haryana. Haryana has a lot of energy, and the people here want a change. We will fight the Vidhan Sabha elections alone and on all the seats."

AAP-Cong face-off in Punjab

The ruling AAP in Punjab too hinted that it may contest the Lok Sabha polls in 2024 sans any alliance with the Congress.

On being questioned about seat-sharing in Punjab, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said, "We know how to compete and win individually. We know how to form and run a government." 

Responding to whether AAP will contest polls under the I.N.D.I.A bloc, Mann said, "We have been given a historic mandate. This is a hypothetical question. AAP contested the elections alone and got 92 seats. The AAP formed the government in Delhi three times. We contested the election alone in Gujarat and bagged a 13 per cent vote share. The AAP is the youngest national party."

Anmol Gagan Mann, AAP minister from Punjab, also stressed that there would be no alliance with the Congress party in the state and AAP would contest the elections alone.