In yet another setback for the opposition INDIA bloc, the Aam Aadmi Party has said it will announce candidates for all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, signalling that there will be no alliance with the Congress in the state.
The announcement that the AAP will contest all 13 seats in the state and 1 in Chandigarh was made by party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday.
The Delhi chief minister’s statement will add to the turmoil in the opposition grouping, which is already reeling from Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s declaration that her party will go solo in West Bengal and is yet to recover from the loss of one of its principal architects, Janata Dal (United) President Nitish Kumar, who switched to the BJP-led NDA last month.
The situation is unclear in Uttar Pradesh, where there have been signs of an agreement between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, but there is also strong speculation of another INDIA ally, the Jayant Chaudhary-led Rashtriya Lok Dal, joining hands with the NDA. The buzz has grown stronger since the government announced that the Bharat Ratna will be conferred posthumously on former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, who was Jayant Chaudhary’s grandfather.
Speaking at a public event on the doorstep delivery of ration in Punjab, Mr Kejriwal said in Hindi, “The Lok Sabha elections will be held in two months… Punjab has 13 seats and Chandigarh has one. In the next 10-15 days, the AAP will announce its candidates for all 14 seats. I request you to give us your blessings like you did (during the Punjab Assembly election) two years ago, and ensure that the AAP sweeps all 14 seats.”
