On Monday, 9th September, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) released its preliminary list of twenty candidates for the 2024 Haryana assembly elections. The announcement came amid ongoing talks between AAP and Congress about seat sharing in the upcoming assembly elections in Haryana to extend their coalition under the I.N.D.I. Alliance. However, the discussions between alliance partners have failed to reach any conclusion.
Notably, AAP has also fielded candidates on 11 seats where Congress has already declared its candidates. These seats are Uchana Kalan, Meham, Badshahpur, Naraingarh, Samalkha, Dabwali, Rohtak, Bahadurgarh, Badli, Beri and Mahendragarh.
The primary concern of the local Congress leaders throughout the discussions was that the AAP might get a chance to gain a foothold in the state on the pretext of alliance. Haryana lies between Delhi and Punjab, and AAP is in power in both those states. Congress has been ousted from power in both the states as AAP gained power.
The Congress vote bank has been taken over by the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi and Punjab, and the grand old party does not want to repeat the same mistake in Haryana. That is why Congress cannot afford to just stand by while AAP uses its backing to establish itself in Haryana.
The Congress believes that people are in their favour on the ground. The state leaders of the party suspect that AAP wanted to take advantage of the situation by joining the alliance. However, Congress couldn’t grant the Aam Aadmi Party’s requested number of seats. Furthermore, Congress had its own strong contenders on many of the seats that AAP had listed, which could have led to open rebellion and damaged Congress prospects when the party is confident of its victory, hence it didn’t agree to AAP’s demand.
On the other hand, some experts also think that an alliance with AAP could have proved to be beneficial for Congress. There is a higher concentration of urban voters in several constituencies, and the Aam Aadmi Party enjoys greater support from them as compared to the Congress. The party could have benefited by giving seats to AAP, especially in the areas that are adjacent to Delhi or Punjab. It would have put a dent in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s vote bank and the transfer of Congress’ vote bank could have created a winning combination for the Aam Aadmi Party. However, certain leaders in Congress reportedly disregarded this calculation.
Meanwhile, Congress is already facing internal deadlock in the state. Many senior leaders are divided into factions. The high command is having a tough time reconciling groups of stalwarts including former CM Bhupinder Hooda, MP Kumari Selja, and Randeep Surjewala. There are thousands of candidates vying for 90 seats of Haryana assembly. Managing the alliance becomes more difficult due to the resentment of these claimants.
