New Delhi: Amid a war of words between the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party leaders over seat sharing in the Lok Sabha election 2024, the AAP on Monday confirmed its participation in the 3rd two-day meet of the opposition leaders in Maharashtra capital Mumbai from Aug. 31. "We will go to Mumbai and will let you know whatever the strategy is", says AAP Convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on the upcoming INDIA alliance meeting,” Delhi Chief Minister and AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal told reporters on Monday.
The AAP conveners' confirmation of the party's participation in the Mumbai meeting comes amid a war of words between the AAP and Congress leaders after controversial statements by the leaders of the two parties. The controversy erupted on Thursday Aug. 17 when Congress leader Alka Lamba said that the party will contest all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi.
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Lamba's statement came a day after the Delhi Congress leaders had a meeting with National President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi. Her statement had evoked a sharp response by INDIA bloc partner AAP, which questioned the rationale of the opposition alliance. AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar had said that if there was no alliance in Delhi, then the INDIA alliance was of no use.
The war of words between the AAP and Congress had made the participation of AAP in the Mumbai meet uncertain. However, Congress's Delhi in-charge Deepak Babaria had refuted Alka Lamba's statement saying that there was no discussion on seat sharing for the Lok Sabha election in Delhi. The equation between INDIA bloc partners was further strained by Arvind Kejriwal's criticism of government schools in Congress ruled Chhattisgarh which is going to assembly polls later this year.
