New Delhi, March 5: With his alliance offer being turned down by the Congress, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged a tacit understanding between the grand old party and its arch-rival, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the national capital. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo said his party is the only viable option before the Delhi electorate to defeat the "Modi-Shah duo".

"At a time when the whole country wants to defeat Modi- Shah duo, Congress is helping the BJP by splitting anti-BJP vote. Rumours are that Congress has some secret understanding with BJP. Delhi is ready to fight against Congress-BJP alliance. People will defeat this unholy alliance," Kejriwal said. Lok Sabha Elections 2019: No Alliance With AAP, Announces Delhi Congress Chief Sheila Dikshit.

His remarks came a couple of hours after Delhi Congress unit chief Sheila Dikshit tod reporters that her party has decided not to join forces with the AAP in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections 2019. The decision was finalised at a two-hour long meeting chaired by Congress president Rahul Gandhi with senior party leaders in the state.

From Delhi, a total of 7 Members of Parliament are elected. The BJP had swept the electoral battle in 2014, winning all the 7 constituencies with a whopping 47 per cent vote share. The AAP, despite securing 33 per cent votes, failed to open its account.

Kejriwal, over the past couple of weeks, has been sending feelers to the Congress camp, claiming that a pre-poll alliance with AAP will disallow the BJP to retain any of the 7 seats in Delhi. "We have ideological differences with the Congress. But the need of the hour today is to vote out the Modi-Shah regime," he had said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 05, 2019 04:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).