AAP sources said the party had sought to make a strong case to stake a claim to Northeast Delhi and were in favour of contesting four of the seven Parliamentary seats in the capital and leaving the rest to the Congress.
Congress general secretary Mukul Wasnik said that a detailed discussion took place. “Over the past 2-2.5 hours, discussions took place on different issues. This included plans to contest different seats. Discussions will continue and we will hold another meeting soon, after which the final shape of seat-sharing will be decided,” Wasnik told reporters after the meeting.
From the AAP’s side, national general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak and Delhi ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj took part in the meeting. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann are campaigning in Gujarat and the party’s Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha is not in the country. All three have been part of the INDIA bloc meetings in the past.
AAP sources said that the meeting was “positive and fruitful” and that seat-sharing was not discussed in detail, but that a clear decision to work together to make the alliance work was reiterated.
A senior Congress leader who was part of the meeting, meanwhile, said a seat-sharing arrangement was not discussed. “They (the AAP) were positive towards the suggestions given and the queries posed by us today to which they will get back to us. The question of discussing seats does not arise because the leaders representing the AAP who were part of the meeting today do not have the mandate to do so; this was already conveyed to us,” the leader said.
According to the Congress leader, the discussions mainly revolved around “cooperation” in different Parliamentary segments in the capital and how each ally could help the other when it came to “weaknesses”.
“We (the Congress) have suggested creation of a common secretariat from the point of view of contesting the polls. This will not only send the right message in terms of cooperation between us both, but also to our respective cadres,” the leader said.
Sources said the seat-sharing arrangement was likely to come up for discussion during the second meeting, which is expected in the coming days.
“Today, we only discussed how to help each other in different constituencies and the candidates we field. Another meeting is scheduled likely for January 10 or 11,” the leader added.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First uploaded on: 08-01-2024 at 16:53 IST
