Amid uncertainty over its alliance with the Congress for the Haryana assembly polls, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday warned that those who underestimate the party will regret it. AAP national secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak said at a press conference that the party is ready to contest all 90 seats in Haryana with full strength. Pathak said, “We are fully prepared and waiting for the party’s orders. As soon as we get the green signal, we will announce everything. We are ready to contest all seats with full strength and those who are underestimating us will regret it themselves in the future.”
The alliance talks between AAP and Congress have got stuck over seat sharing. According to insiders, AAP has demanded 10 seats while Congress is offering five to seven seats. Voting will be held in Haryana on October 5. The last date for filing nominations is September 12. Earlier in the day, AAP’s chief national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said that talks were going on and expressed hope that some conclusion would be reached.
When asked how many seats AAP would contest if it forms an alliance with Congress, he said, “Talks are on, so it is too early to comment on it.” Aam Aadmi Party is continuously campaigning in Haryana. Sunita Kejriwal, wife of party chief Arvind Kejriwal, will hold public meetings in the state on Saturday. Kakkar said, “We are ready to contest all 90 seats.”
AAP sources on Friday claimed that alliance talks were on the verge of collapse. They also claimed that the party was planning to contest 50 seats and may announce its first list of candidates on Sunday. AAP and Congress, constituents of opposition coalition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INA), had contested the Lok Sabha elections in alliance in Haryana, Gujarat and Delhi. In Haryana, the AAP contested the Kurukshetra seat, where its state unit chief Sushil Gupta lost to BJP’s Naveen Jindal.