Arvind Kejriwal has expressed confidence that he would win all the seats of Punjab and Chandigarh.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal all but announced his party's intention of cutting the Congress out and contesting all seven seats of Delhi today, saying it is the decision of the "people of Delhi". The Aam Aadmi Party has already unilaterally announced that it would contest all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab and named candidates for three seats in Assam.
"People of Delhi have decided to give 7 out of 7 seats to AAP. Strengthen the hands of Bhagwant Mann ji by giving him 13 out of 13 Loksabha seats in Punjab. Then the Central Government and the Governor will not have the courage to stop Punjab's money," read a rough translation of his post on X, formerly Twitter.
On Saturday, Mr Kejriwal had expressed confidence that he would win all the seats of Punjab and Chandigarh.
AAP's decision would come as yet another blow to the Opposition front INDIA, enhancing the perception that the parties do not stand united on seat sharing. It also adds to the loss of face for the Congress, which was hoping to contest at least a few of Delhi's seven seats.
The Grand Old Party has already been rebuffed in Punjab and Bengal, where the state powers AAP and Trinamool Congress have declared that they would go solo.
Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said INDIA's initial strategy, more than seat sharing, was pitching a single candidate against the BJP on each seat and allowing whichever party was dominant to contest. Trinamool, she had added, was the only party competent to beat the BJP in Bengal.
She had has even predicted that the Congress score will slip further to 40 seats, bringing much joy to the BJP camp.