No alliance with AAP in Delhi, says Congress after Rahul Gandhi meets state leaders

Hopes of a Congress-Aam Aadmi Party alliance in Delhi ended when Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit announced, after a meeting with party president Rahul Gandhi, that there would be no tie-up. Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP had already named candidates for six of Delhi’s seven Lok Sabha seats, saying there was no chance of an alliance, though sources said it had been negotiating and had several seat-sharing formulas ready.

The Congress decision

Dikshit said the state unit had unanimously rejected an alliance with AAP, which swept to power in Delhi in 2015. She said the decision was final, Rahul Gandhi had accepted it, and the Congress would contest all seven seats on its own. The two-hour meeting was attended by the party’s main Delhi leaders, including Dikshit and her predecessor Ajay Maken.

The offers on the table

According to sources, AAP was ready to give the Congress two seats in Delhi and was open to an arrangement in Punjab as well, but the Congress held out for three. AAP also had other options if the Congress wanted more seats in Delhi, such as seats for AAP in Haryana and Punjab. AAP sources said several back-channel meetings made no headway.

Gandhi’s meeting followed a push from senior opposition leaders including Mamata Banerjee, who were trying to close gaps in a united front against the BJP. A rethink of opposition strategy was felt necessary after the Pulwama attack and the air strikes on Balakot, which had stirred strong nationalist sentiment; the BJP was building its campaign around nationalism and national security.

Last month, at a meeting of opposition parties, AAP and the Congress were again urged to set aside differences, but Gandhi signalled reluctance. Days later Kejriwal said he was tired of repeatedly seeking a tie-up, and on March 2 AAP named its candidates.

Background

The BJP won all seven Delhi seats in the 2014 general election. In the 2015 assembly election, AAP won 67 of 70 seats, while the Congress, which had governed Delhi for three terms, suffered a heavy defeat.

What happened next

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the BJP won 303 of 543 seats and the Congress 52.

See also: Indian National Congress and Aam Aadmi Party

Originally published on 5 March 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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