A day after the seat sharing meeting with INDIA Alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, AAP Delhi convener Gopal Rai on Tuesday said the party has kept its stand on contesting in an alliance with the Congress in five States, including Punjab, and the discussion has so far been positive. Meanwhile Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will embark on a two-day visit of Goa on January 11 to assess the AAP's preparations for the Lok Sabha elections. AAP sources said Kejriwal, will also hold meetings with party workers during his visit. "The two-day Goa visit is for assessing the preparations for the Lok Sabha polls. He will also interact with party workers," AAP sources said.
"The (seat-sharing) talks have begun between the two parties. We kept our stand on contesting in an alliance in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Goa and Gujarat. Till now, there has been positive discussions," he said on the sidelines of a press conference. The AAP and the Congress are part of the INDIA bloc and held discussions on Monday to discuss seat-sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
When asked about the seats the party is willing to contest, the AAP leader said that there was "no discussion" on specific seats in these states. The AAP is in power in Delhi and Punjab. The Congress units in both the states are opposed to any truck with the AAP. In Punjab, the Congress and the AAP have openly traded barbs over contesting the elections in an alliance.
"We want to contest the elections in an alliance. In the next meeting, the talks about seats will be held. When we are in an alliance, we have to take an official stand. For that (official stand), both the parties will make their preparations and then discuss," Rai added.
The Congress and the AAP discussed seat-sharing prospects for the Lok Sabha polls in Punjab, Delhi and other states on Monday. They decided to meet again to give a final shape to the arrangements between the two key constituents of the INDIA opposition bloc.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will embark on a two-day visit of Goa on January 11 to assess the AAP's preparations for the Lok Sabha elections. AAP sources said Kejriwal, will also hold meetings with party workers during his visit. "The two-day Goa visit is for assessing the preparations for the Lok Sabha polls. He will also interact with party workers," AAP sources said.
There are two Lok Sabha seats in Goa and BJP and Congress share one each. AAP, which won two Assembly seats with 6.77 per cent vote share, is demanding one Lok Sabha seat from Congress. However, Congress does not appear keen to share the seats with the Kejriwal-led party.
The AAP has also expressed its willingness to contest the Lok Sabha polls in states, such as Gujarat and Haryana and Goa, the source said. While the AAP wants to contest four of the seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital, the Congress is eager to field its nominees from the New Delhi, Chandni Chowk and North East constituencies, they claimed.