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The Congress alliance talks with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the upcoming assembly polls in  Haryana are likely to fall through.  Sources have also indicated that AAP will release its first list of candidates for the upcoming polls on Sunday. The AAP is planning to contest 50 seats in the state. The AAP claimed just before a meeting of the Congress' central election committee.

"The alliance talks are on the verge of collapse in Haryana and the AAP is planning to contest 50 of the 90 assembly seats in the state on its own," sources claimed. Earlier, the party insiders had said that the AAP was demanding 10 assembly seats in Haryana whereas the Congress was offering five to seven seats.

Sources said no consensus was in sight over seat sharing. Although the AAP has made multiple attempts to make inroads in Haryana, its performance has remained dismal with the party failing to open its account in any of the Assembly elections or the Lok Sabha polls since its poll debut in the state in 2014. The AAP first made its electoral foray in the state barely one-and-a-half years after its inception in November 2012. Significantly, the AAP’s supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hails from Siwani village in Haryana’s Bhiwani district. The AAP’s best performance in Haryana came in the recent general elections when it contested from the Kurukshetra constituency in alliance with the Congress, even though it lost the seat to the ruling BJP in a close fight.

Confident after its strong performance in the general elections, where it matched the BJP with five seats each, the Congress believes it has a good chance in state elections and they are unwilling to concede too many seats to AAP. It is learnt that former chief minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda is not in favour of the alliance with the AAP. He has reportedly expressed his view with senior party leadership too.

AAP contested only one seat and faced defeat, whereas Congress contested nine seats and secured five victories, thereby preventing a second consecutive clean sweep by the BJP. The AAP and the Congress, partners in the Indian Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), contested the recent Lok Sabha polls in Haryana, Gujarat and Delhi together.

The state has a 90-member assembly, where Congress won 31 seats and AAP failed to secure any in the previous state election.

Notably,  earlier it is stated that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was keen to ally with the AAP after their alliance in the general elections prevented another clean sweep by the BJP in the state. Sources in the AAP claimed that several "disgruntled" leaders of the BJP and the Congress were ready to join the party in Haryana where the assembly elections will be held on October 5. The AAP is believed to have considerable influence in urban areas, particularly those bordering Delhi and Punjab, where Congress's weak seats are located.

 The ruling BJP in Haryana as well as the Congress are facing strong opposition from their own leaders over ticket distribution.  Several BJP leaders, including sitting MLAs, have announced that they would quit the party after being denied ticket for the polls.

The Haryana Assembly election will take place on October 5. Candidates must file their nominations by September 12.

The election date was moved from October 1 to October 5 by the Election Commission to respect the voting traditions of the Bishnoi community, which is an important group in three districts of the state.