'BJP Can Lose if INDIA Unites': Chandigarh Mayor Win May Seal AAP-Congress Deal

AAP and Congress are close to finalising a seat-sharing arrangement in Delhi.

(AAP's Kuldeep Kumar became the new mayor of Chandigarh with support of the Congress)

(PTI photo modified by Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

"INDIA can defeat BJP if it unites," this was the first statement made by newly elected mayor of Chandigarh - Kuldeep Kumar of the Aam Aadmi Party.

Kumar was finally made the mayor on 20 February after the Supreme Court overturned returning officer Anil Masih's decision rejecting eight votes cast by AAP and Congress councillors on 1 February.

The SC came down heavily on Masih, asking for contempt proceedings against him.

This is an important win for the AAP and Congress and comes at a time when the two parties are in the process of arriving at a seat-sharing arrangement in Delhi for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Seat Sharing Talks at Advanced Stage

Sources in both AAP and Congress confirm that seat-sharing talks between the two parties regarding Delhi are at an advanced stage and the final announcement could be made anytime soon.

"The discussions have been constructive. The party appreciates the role played by (Congress president) Mallikarjun Kharge ji and Lovely ji (Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely)," an AAP source revealed.

The seat-sharing arrangement could involve a 4:3 or 5:2 split between the AAP and Congress respectively.

Kharge has consistently enjoyed a good equation with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP leaders, who had also appreciated his support during the Delhi ordinance row.

Kejriwal was also one of the INDIA bloc leaders who openly spoke in favour of declaring Kharge as the alliance's PM candidate.

Regarding Lovely, it must be remembered that he was the Delhi Congress chief when the party supported the first Kejriwal government from outside in 2013. He is known to be on good terms with Kejriwal.

'No Alliance in Punjab a Mutual Decision'

Kejriwal also said on 18 February that the decision of the AAP and Congress not to have an alliance in Punjab was taken with mutual consultation and didn't reflect any discord between the parties.

Both sides say that decision was taken keeping in mind the ground realities in Punjab, where BJP is a marginal player. The sense in both the parties was that an alliance would have opened the space up for BJP.

The likelihood of the alliance reduced further after talks between the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal broke down last week.

Now with the farmers' agitation against the central government on the Minimum Support Price issue gaining steam, the possibility of an alliance between the two parties has become even more complicated.

The SAD has also slammed the BJP over a Sikh police officer from Bengal alleging that the saffron party's leader Suvendu Adhikari called him a "Khalistani".

Sources in AAP and Congress say that the parties are open to re-looking the alliance in Punjab in case the BJP and Akalis come together.