14 Oppn parties eye pact for '24, Cong-AAP deal unlikely

At least 14 Opposition parties will try to strike a deal among themselves ahead of the 2024 general elections but any pre-poll pact between the Congress and the AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) will be an uphill task, given the complexity in their equation, party leaders from both sides indicated on Saturday.

- Saubhadra Chatterji and Alok KN Mishra

NEW DELHI: A day after Friday’s mega Opposition gathering in Patna, AAP functionaries rued the fact that despite Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal requesting senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi “with folded hands” during the meet to decide a date for a meeting over tea between leaders of both parties to resolve differences, the latter declined and refused to denounce the controversial Delhi ordinance. Congress leaders, however, maintained that Gandhi did not say a word on the ordinance and that party president Mallikarjun Kharge did not announce the Congress position on the issue in Patna, saying any decision has to be first discussed within the party.

In the recent past, the AAP has made appeals to the Congress to denounce the ordinance. AAP functionaries said Gandhi questioned the “eagerness” being shown to get the Congress to spell out its stand on the ordinance. Congress leaders did not corroborate any such exchange.

Kejriwal attended the Opposition meeting with three other AAP leaders, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, parliamentarians Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh, where senior leaders from various parties urged the Congress to denounce the ordinance, which did not materialise, as a result of which AAP leaders skipped a joint press conference, people familiar with the developments said.