Lok Sabha elections 2019: Aam Aadmi Party seals its tie-up with JJP in Haryana

A day after officially calling off a potential alliance with the Congress in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday said it will fight the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in Haryana with the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP).

The two parties sealed a sea-sharing deal for Haryana on Thursday night, senior leaders of the AAP said, adding that a formal announcement on the same will be made on Friday.

Senior leaders from both the parties said they have “plans” to contest on all 10 seats in Haryana without disclosing the exact seat sharing formula. “As far as our strongholds are concerned, I would list Gurgaon (Gurugram), Faridabad, Ambala and
Karnal,” senior AAP leader Gopal Rai said.

“Gurgaon (Gurugram) and Faridabad are satellite towns for Delhi and they have a mixed composition of voters, similar to Delhi, in terms of class, caste, groups, etc. We can apply the same poll strategies there. In Ambala and Karnal, we have a huge base of cadres, who have done intensive groundwork in the past year. So, the party stands a good chance,” he said.

Confirming the alliance, JJP leader Digvijay Chautala said, “Our ideology matches with that of the AAP, not the Congress. Now, that the negotiation for seat sharing with Congress has been called off, we will definitely support the AAP.”

The two parties are expected to come up with a list of candidates by April 15, a day before the window for filing nominations open in the state, AAP leaders said.

While some AAP leaders said that the seat sharing deal was settled at 6:4, some others said it was 7:3. In both cases, the AAP keeps the larger share. Leaders of JJP did not comment on the formula.

Haryana goes to the polls in a single phase on May 12, the same day as Delhi. Currently, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance has seven seats in Haryana, followed by the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) on two seats and the Congress on one.

On Wednesday, senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh had said that the party will not tie-up with the Congress anywhere, including
the national capital.

According to him, it was Congress’ refusal to offer seats to the AAP in Haryana which had acted as the proverbial last nail in the coffin for the talks of an alliance between the two parties.

First Published: Apr 12, 2019 04:54 IST