AAP to contest Punjab on its own: Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will announce candidates for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab and the lone seat in Chandigarh within a fortnight in a further blow to the opposition INDIA bloc.

His comments come at a time when the opposition parties that principally agreed to fight as one under the INDIA (Indian National Developmental InclusiveAlliance) bannerhave struggled to agree on a seat-sharing formula, especially in states where they are in a triangular contest involving one or more prospective allies and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Seeking people’s blessings for the elections due this summer, the Delhi chiefminister said voters need to “sweep Punjab”with full force. “Two years back, you gave your blessings. Out of 117 seats, you gave us 92 seats. You created history in Punjab. Today I again seek your blessing with folded hands,” he said in a reference to the 2022 Punjab assembly elections when the AAP stormed to power, in amajor setback for the Congress, a key INDIA bloc constituent. “Therewill beLokSabha elections after two months. In Punjab, there are 13 (Lok Sabha) seats, one is Chandigarh and therewill be 14 seats. In the coming 10-15 days, the AAP will announce its candidates on all these 14 seats. I request you the way you blessed us two years back, get the party to win all these 14 seats,” said Kejriwal, who was accompanied by Punjab chief minister BhagwantMann.

While the AAP contested the Chandigarhmayoral polls in alliance with the Congress, the announcement about the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat came weeks after Mann, on January 24, announced that the party would go solo in Punjab. That announcement was followed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) — another INDIA party— saying it would context all seats in West Bengal alone.