New Delhi: AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Tuesday welcomed reports claiming Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has shown interest in the possibility of an alliance with Arvind Kejriwal-led party in poll-bound Haryana. Singh told reporters that defeating the BJP is a priority of all the opposition parties and added any decision regarding alliance will be taken with the approval of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal.
There were several reports claiming that Gandhi, in a meeting of Congress' Central Election Committee (CEC) on Monday, expressed interest about the possibility of alliance with AAP for assembly polls in Haryana. Voting on 90 assembly seats in Haryana will be held on October 5 and counting of votes will be undertaken on October 8.
"Defeating the BJP and its politics of hatred and politics against people, farmers and youth is a priority for all of us," Singh said. Singh, however, said any official stand on the issue will be made by AAP's in-charge of Haryana affairs Sandeep Pathak and state president Sushil Gupta.
"Any final decision in this regard will be taken by our leaders associated with organisational and election related works in Haryana, after approval of Kejriwal," said the senior AAP leader. Delhi minister Atishi said the decision will only be taken after Kejriwal is released. "Rahul Gandhi has sought opinion from Congress leaders and only they can answer. We have got to know about it from media. As far as alliance goes, the decision will be taken after Arvind Kejriwal comes out," she told reporters on the sidelines of an event.
Meanwhile, the Congress said it is in talks with AAP for an alliance in Haryana but nothing has been finalised yet. Asked about the possibility of an alliance with AAP, AICC general secretary in-charge of state Deepak Babaria said, "We are in talks with the Aam Aadmi Party, but nothing has been finalised yet. As soon as something is finalised, we will inform you." Responding to another question, Babaria said, "We have to defeat the BJP and not allow votes to be divided." His remarks came after a screening committee meeting of the party ahead of the CEC meeting later this evening.
On whether the Congress will field Vinesh Phogat in the upcoming Haryana Elections, Babaria said, "You will get a clarity by tomorrow." The Congress' CEC had met here on Monday and finalised the names of 34 candidates for the assembly polls in Haryana.
"Today, a meeting was held for Haryana by the Central Election Committee. A list of 49 names was presented by the state's screening committee, out of which 34 have been approved and 15 are pending," Babaria had said last evening.
Voting on 90 assembly seats in Haryana will be held on October 5 and counting of votes will be undertaken on October 8. Interestingly, the Congress and AAP contested the Lok Sabha polls independently in Punjab. Gupta recently asserted that AAP is ready to strongly contest all the 90 assembly seats in Haryana on its own with an alliance with the people of the state.
