Aam Aadmi Party names 20 candidates for Haryana elections

The Aam Aadmi Party released its initial list of 20 candidates for the Haryana assembly elections on October 5, suggesting a potential roadblock in discussions for forming an alliance with the Congress.

Last date for filing nominations is September 12

Nomination filing deadline for the 90-person assembly is September 12.

The Haryana unit vice president Anurag Dhanda has been nominated by the party to contest from Kalayat, while Indu Sharma will be contesting from Bhiwani. Vikas Nehra is representing Meham and Bijender Hooda is representing Rohtak in the field.

The party was in talks with the Congress for a possible alliance in the state.

Negotiation talks with Congress face roadblocks

Nevertheless, negotiations have hit a snag regarding the amount of seats that the AAP will compete for. Sources say that Arvind Kejriwal’s party is asking for 10 seats, while the Congress is proposing five.

Earlier in the day, Sushil Gupta, the state unit chief of AAP, announced that his party would reveal the names of candidates for all 90 seats if the agreement was not finalized by the evening.

According to sources, the AAP wanted to contest on at least 10 seats, but the Congress wasn’t willing to spare more than three for the Arvind Kejriwal-led party.

Also read: Vinesh, Bajrang to join Congress today ahead of Haryana polls

The parties agreed in principle last week to work together in the upcoming Haryana elections. Conversations occurred at various levels in recent days, where Congress leader Deepak Babaria, the party’s representative for alliance negotiations, mentioned that the alliance will only happen if it benefits both parties.

Sources claimed that the AAP was demanding the Kalayat seat and at least one seat in the Kurukshetra region.

Also read: Haryana Assembly Elections: BJP releases first candidate list

If the Congress doesn’t reach a decision by the evening, Haryana AAP chief Sushil Gupta stated that they will unveil the complete list of candidates due to the lack of progress in the seat-sharing discussions.