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Rahul refused to forge alliance with AAP for LS polls: Kejriwal

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said that he had met Congress President Rahul Gandhi recently and he had refused to join hands with the Aam Aadmi Party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Kejriwal

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Published : Apr 1, 2019, 9:37 AM IST

Visakhapatnam:Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that Congress President Rahul Gandhi has refused to forge an alliance with the AAP for the Lok Sabha polls in the national capital.

Talking to reporters at the airport here, the AAP leader said he had met Gandhi recently and the Congress leader had refused to join hands with the AAP.

Asked about Congress' Delhi unit president Sheila Dikshit's remarks that Kejriwal never approached her for an alliance, the chief minister said, We have met Rahul Gandhi. Dikshit is not that important leader.

Kejriwal has been urging the Congress to stitch an alliance in Delhi for the Lok Sabha polls to keep the BJP away from power.

Leaders in the Delhi unit of the Congress were divided over the issue of alliance with Dikshit and her three working presidents opposing it, party sources had said.

Reports had recently said that chances of an alliance were "slim" considering its long term repercussions in Delhi.

"The biggest question is how will Congress face the AAP in Assembly elections due in 2020 after the tie-up. Also, the party does not gain much politically as it is being offered only 2-3 seats by Kejriwal," a report said.

Congress had drawn a blank in the 2014 parliamentary elections in Delhi.

The talk of an alliance was fuelled by the fact that the Congress and AAP had jointly polled more votes than the BJP that had walked away with all the seven seats in the national capital.

Delhi has 7 Lok Sabha seats and it will go to polls on May 12.

Read:Why is Wayanad the safest seat for Rahul Gandhi?

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