India News | Cong Has No Strength to Contest Haryana Poll Alone, So Cosying Up to AAP: Anil Vij

Chandigarh, Sep 3 (PTI) The Congress lacks the strength to contest the Haryana elections on its own so it is "cosying up" to the AAP, BJP leader Anil Vij said Tuesday, taking a dig at the two parties which are in talks for an alliance for the October 5 polls.

Congress and AAP insiders said on Tuesday they are in alliance talks in Haryana but nothing has been finalised yet.

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"The Congress does not have the strength to contest elections in Haryana on its own, which is why they are now cosying up to AAP and aligning with the party," the former Haryana home minister said.

He further said that till yesterday, all Haryana Congress leaders including former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda were making claims that there were a lot of aspirants for a Congress ticket.

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"Now, perhaps, they are not even able to gather enough numbers, which is why they are seeking outside support. Only the weak seeks outside support," he added.

Efforts to forge an AAP-Congress alliance for Haryana Assembly polls have gained momentum with the two parties already in talks over a seat-sharing arrangement, according to AAP insiders.

While the Aam Aadmi Party is demanding 10 seats to contest out of 90, the Congress is ready to give only seven seats, they said.

Sources in AAP said on Tuesday that senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha and Congress' KC Venugopal have already held two rounds of talks and are likely to meet again in a day or two.

Asked about the possibility of an alliance with the AAP, AICC general secretary in-charge of state Deepak Babaria said in Delhi on Tuesday, "We are in talks with the Aam Aadmi Party, but nothing has been finalised yet. As soon as something is finalised, we will inform you."

In a interview with PTI last month, former CM Hooda said, "We have an alliance at the national level (with the AAP) but as far as state level is concerned, no talks have been held with any party."

"The Congress is capable (to win) on its own. No talks have been held," the two-time chief minister had said.

Recently, another senior Congress leader in Haryana Kumari Selja said her party is strong in the state and will fight the elections on its own.

AAP's Haryana unit chief Sushil Gupta, who unsuccessfully fought the Kurukshetra LS polls this year, had also recently asserted that his party is ready to strongly contest on all the 90 assembly seats in Haryana on its own "with an alliance with the people of the state".

The Congress and the AAP contested the Lok Sabha polls in Haryana jointly. Under the arrangement, the grand old party fought nine of the 10 seats and won five while the AAP unsuccessfully contested the Kurukshetra seat.

Voting in the 90 assembly seats in Haryana will be held on October 5 and counting on October 8.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)