Congress set for pre-poll alliance with AAP in Delhi, offers four Lok Sabha seats: Sources

NEW DELHI: After initial hiccups, the Congress is set to form a pre-poll alliance with the Aam Aam Party (AAP) in Delhi for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, sources said on Monday. The development comes hours after Congress President Rahul Gandhi held a meeting with all top leaders of party's Delhi unit and discussed the issue with them once again, after having earlier decided to go it alone in the national capital. The Congress leadership has made up its mind to align with the AAP and offered it four out of the seven Lok Sabha seats, sources said, adding that the Congress is now awaiting response of the Delhi's ruling party. The alliance is likely to be sealed in a day or two, they said. Whether the two parties will also come together in Haryana and Punjab or not, it will be discussed later, sources further said. Earlier on Monday, the Delhi unit of Congress appeared vertically divided over any alliance with the AAP, with the leadership leaving the decision to Rahul Gandhi. Four former Delhi Congress presidents -- Ajay Maken, Subhash Chopra, Tajdar Babar and Arvinder Singh Lovely -- reportedly favoured an alliance with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party. Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit and three working presidents, Devender Yadav, Rajesh Lilothia, and Haroon Yusuf, maintained their stand against the alliance. After airing their views to the Congress president, the party leadership in Delhi had left the final decision on Rahul Gandhi. The rethink on the Congress alliance with AAP in Delhi has come after intervention of opposition leaders like Sharad Pawar, who is asking both the parties to come together to unitedly defeat the BJP. The section led by Dikshit was vehemently opposing the alliance, while that led by AICC general secretary PC Chacko was in favour of a tie-up.