Congress Alliance Talks: Two important members of the INDIA Alliance, the Congress, and the AAP, met for the second time in less than a week and reported that seat-sharing negotiations for the Lok Sabha elections are going well. This development is probably going to relieve some concerns inside the alliance. Talks about seat distribution in West Bengal, Punjab, and Delhi, areas controlled by the AAP, were considered potential roadblocks for the alliance.

The two parties are reportedly also discussing seat sharing in Gujarat, Goa, and Haryana, according to sources. Senior AAP politician and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha said in Hindi following a two-hour meeting on Friday at Congress leader Mukul Wasnik’s home in Delhi: “The discussion on an alliance is going very well but it’s not like a cricket match where we can give you ball-by-ball commentary.” Congressman Salman Khurshid has had a detailed conversation with you.”

According to Mr. Khurshid, the talks are going well and will go on till a decision is made on everything. “Everyone is happy with how well we are progressing. We hope that after consulting with our leaders, we will reach a decision and present it to you. We discuss all states collectively, but when we consider a location where two or four of us (the parties) have a significant presence, we consider it from the standpoint of the INDIA alliance, the senior Congress leader stated.

When asked about Punjab, where some party leaders have been against forming a coalition, Mr. Khurshid responded, “We will work together on whatever we do.” We’re having these conversations with the public and our party workers in mind. We shall pick which seats we can and present our opinion to our leaders before choosing the next round of seats.”

Both sides voiced similar opinions during Monday’s inaugural seat-sharing meeting. The Congress has said that it had decided to run for office alongside the AAP. The following day, top AAP leader from Delhi, Gopal Rai, told news agency PTI that his party had declared its intention to run in five states: Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Goa, and Delhi, in coalition with the Congress.

Delhi and Punjab both have seven Lok Sabha seats. The BJP swept all seven seats in Delhi in 2019 while the Congress won eight in Punjab.

SOURCE: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/ball-by-ball-commentary-raghav-chadha-on-congress-alliance-talks-4851420