Congress, AAP resume alliance talks in Delhi ahead of Lok Sabha elections

The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have resumed talks on Thursday to forge an alliance in Delhi ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. According to sources, the yare discussing the seat-sharing formula for the seven seats. The speculation of a tie-up between both the parties got a boost with AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh meeting All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Delhi PC Chacko on Wednesday evening, news agency PTI reported.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP has proposed to give two seats to Congress which has instead demanded three - New Delhi, Chandni Chowk and North East Delhi, sources in both the parties claimed. The rationale behind an alliance between the two parties is that together they polled more votes than the BJP which swept the 2014 Lok Sabha elections winning all the seven seats in Delhi.

Two days ago it was reported that amid alliance talks, Delhi Congress chief and former chief minister Sheila Dikshit met party president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday. The meeting, which last for around 20 minutes was also attended by AICC in-charge of Delhi PC Chacko. 

Dikshit, who has been opposing an alliance with the AAP, had said on Sunday that the decision on tie-up for Lok Sabha. The decision from Rahul Gandhi on an alliance is expected "anytime" now, sources said.

The Delhi unit of the party has been divided over an alliance with the AAP. Four former Delhi Congress presidents -- Ajay Maken, Subhash Chopra, Tajdar Babar and Arvinder Singh Lovely -- favoured an alliance with Kejriwal's party. On the other hand, Dikshit and three working presidents, Devender Yadav, Rajesh Lilothia, and Haroon Yusuf, maintained their stand against the alliance. 

Amid the dilly-dallying over forging an alliance, NCP chief Sharad Pawar had also intervened, asking both the parties to join hands to unitedly defeat the BJP.

Soon after the meeting on Monday, Arvind Kejriwal had declared that the Congress had rejected an alliance and he was "fed up of trying to convince the party".

The AAP has been seeking an alliance with the Congress in Delhi saying that a division of votes will help the BJP in all seven constituencies in the city. The BJP had won all Lok Sabha seats in Delhi in 2014 parliamentary polls.

The Lok Sabha elections on the seven seats in Delhi will be held on May 12. The counting of votes will be done on May 23.