The Congress and the Aam Admi Party (AAP) announced their seat-sharing agreement in Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Chandigarh and Goa for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Saturday. As expected, the AAP will contest from four seats in Delhi and the grand old party from the remaining three seats. Apart from this, two seats in Gujarat and one seat in Haryana have been given to the AAP.
Although the seat-sharing arrangement is being claimed as a boost for the opposition INDIA bloc, which would lead to “change in BJP strategy”, the political commentators are of the view that the coalition is a reflection of the “existential crises” being faced by these parties.
Says Sanjiv Ranjan, assistant professor, political science, Moti Lal Nehru college (evening), Delhi University, “The seat-sharing arrangement in my view is politics of opposition. For AAP and Congress, it is a question of survival and that is the reason why they are coming together against the BJP at the national level.”
“However, this is not going to work. Rather it may backfire,” he said.
Ranjan added that the dent in the AAP’s image in light of the corruption cases against them has also led the party to collaborate with the Congress. “AAP used to be staunchly against such collaborations. But, now they are doing it because it has become a question of existence for them.”
Out of the total 46 seats in the five states, the AAP will be contesting on just seven.
Adds another political commentator, “In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress and the AAP together were behind by 16 per cent votes from the BJP in Delhi.
He said the Congress-AAP alliance is aimed at consolidating the anti-BJP votes, but it is unlikely that it will make any difference to the BJP in the upcoming elections. “Another big question is why they are contesting independently in Punjab.”
Giving details of the seat sharing, Congress leader Mukul Wasnik said that out of the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, the AAP will contest on four seats: New Delhi, West Delhi, South Delhi and East Delhi, while the Congress will contest the remaining three – Chandni Chowk, North East Delhi, and North West Delhi.
Of the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, the Congress will contest on 24 seats and the AAP on two – Bharuch and Bhavnagar. In Haryana, the Congress will contest on nine seats and the AAP on one seat in Kurukshetra.
It was also agreed that the Congress will contest elections in Chandigarh and on both the seats of Goa.
