After Punjab, AAP announces to go solo in Haryana in LS polls

"BJP-RSS are spreading hatred, violence and injustice. So, INDIA formation is going to fight 'Anyay' together," Gandhi said.

New Delhi: In a big dent to the INDIA Alliance, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has announced to go solo in Haryana in the Lok Sabha polls.

Earlier, the party announced that it would contest all Lok Sabha seats in Punjab alone.

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In an exclusive talk with ANI, AAP leader Sushil Gupta said, “We will contest alone in all 90 assembly seats in Haryana. Regarding the Lok Sabha, we have communicated our stance to the national leadership of our party that we are strong and we can contest the elections in alliance and independently as well. The final decision will be taken by the party leadership.” Earlier, the INDIA alliance suffered a setback when Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that there would be no alliance with the grand old party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

“In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, AAP will get 13 seats (in Punjab),” Mann said at a media briefing.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) Supremo Mamata Banerjee broke ties with the Congress, stating that the party will go solo in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha polls.

“I had no discussions with the Congress party. I have always said that in Bengal, we will fight alone. I am not concerned about what will be done in the country but we are a secular party and in Bengal, we will alone defeat the BJP,” the TMC supremo said.

However, setting aside the ‘rift’ rumours within the INDIA bloc, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi adopted a conciliatory tone saying that the INDIA bloc will fight ‘Anyay’ together.

“BJP-RSS are spreading hatred, violence and injustice. So, INDIA formation is going to fight ‘Anyay’ together,” Gandhi said.

The conciliatory tone was also sounded by Jairam Ramesh who reiterated that Mamata was an important part of the INDIA bloc.

“I have said that TMC is an important pillar of INDIA bloc, which comprises 28 parties. Mamata Banerjee is an experienced and energetic leader of the country, a tall leader. We respect her…Everyone knows that she holds a special place and identity in the politics of our country. I am very confident that she too wants to defeat the BJP, we also want the same. We will fight together. We will make INDIA Alliance successful. That is our duty,” Jairam Ramesh said.

Moreover, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took swipe at the mega alliance over the reported rift within it.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the INDIA bloc just needed an excuse. They had to do drama for 7-8 months and they did it. Everyone knew this…Ultimately, there will be no INDI.

“We had all been saying from day 1 that this is just photoshoot and nothing is going to come out of it. AAP declared today that they would contest alone. Mamata Banerjee also announced that the party will contest independently…Other parties are also going to same the same. Wait for it,” he added.

The INDIA bloc is struggling to resolve key challenges including finalising seat-sharing arrangements most importantly deciding on a PM face while the BJP has started executing strategies it laid off in 2023 to secure victory in General elections.