"We will continue to remain in INDIA bloc", AAP MP Sandeep Pathak amid rift with Congress
Feb 14, 2024
Vadodara (Gujarat) [India], February 14 : Amid a rift with Congress in the INDIA bloc, Aam Aadmi Party MP Sandeep Pathak on Wednesday said that the party will continue to remain in the alliance as winning the election is more important.
AAP MP said "We will continue to remain in the alliance. We are not in the alliance for our benefit. We are here because we have to win. Winning is important. All our strategies and decisions are targeted towards victory..."
"In Punjab, local units of both AAP and Congress said they wanted to contest independently. We are contesting together in Delhi. I hope that seat-sharing discussions happen soon, and I hope they are productive... The basis of seat sharing should be the stronghold of candidates on their constituency," Sandeep Pathak added.
Earlier, on Tuesday the Aam Aadmi Party offered the Congress Party a single Lok Sabha seat in Delhi. This is contrary to earlier reports that had suggested a 3-4 formula between Congress and AAP in Delhi.
Further, AAP MP Sandeep Pathak said that even though the Congress party does not merit even a single seat in Delhi, in the spirit of alliance, the AAP party is willing to offer one seat.
The AAP plans to field candidates in the remaining six seats in Delhi, Pathak added.
"You must have seen in the Delhi elections that the Congress party has zero seats in the Lok Sabha, zero seats in the Vidhan Sabha, and in the MCD elections, out of 250, only 9 seats have come to the Congress party. If you look at this data on a merit basis, the Congress party does not get a single seat, according to this data. But data is not important; keeping in mind the dharma of the alliance and the respect of the Congress party, we offer them one seat. So we propose that the Congress party fights on one seat and the Aam Aadmi Party fights on six seats," he said.
Pathak also expressed his disappointment over the lack of progress in seat-sharing discussions with the Congress party; he added that despite two official meetings, no concrete outcomes have been achieved.
As the Lok Sabha elections approach, political parties across the spectrum are ramping up their efforts to connect with voters. With the BJP bringing on new partners like the RLD on its platform the INDIA bloc is sinking in its efforts to put up a united front.
