Maken said that no party worker or leader wants an alliance with the AAP at a time when the graph of the Kejriwal government is 'declining fast' and that of Congress is 'shooting up'.
Dismissing the speculation regarding any form of coalition between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in New Delhi ahead the 2019 general elections, Delhi Congress Chief Ajay Maken on Saturday ruled out the possibility of forming any alliance with the Arvind Kejriwal led-party.
Speaking to reporters, Maken said that no party worker or leader wants an alliance with the AAP at a time when the graph of the Kejriwal government is 'declining fast' and that of Congress is 'shooting up'. “Leaders and workers of the party do not want any alliance with AAP due to two reasons. First, the popularity of Kejriwal is fast declining as his Government is not working. Second, the AAP is responsible for creating the monster of Modi,” Maken said.
Meanwhile, chief spokesperson of state Congress Sharmistha Mukherjee also hit out at AAP and said the party is facing an existential crisis. Taking to Twitter, she said, “AAP is facing existential crisis. No wonder it’s desperate for an alliance with Congress, a party and it’s leaders whom Arvind Kejriwal abused unabashedly. If he has courage and conviction, let him immediately quash rumours and reject these stories as false as Ajay Maken is doing.”
The talks about possibility of an alliance between the two parties began on Saturday with Maken and AAP leader Dilip Pandey taking to Twitter to make claims and counterclaims about who approached whom.
"The AAP got 56-57 per cent votes in the 2015 Assembly elections that fell to 26 per cent in MCD polls last year. The Congress on the other hand got 9.5 per cent votes in 2015 that went up to 22 per cent in MCD polls which shows party's graph is rising in Delhi," he said.
"The people of Delhi are rejecting the AAP on issues of power, water and education. The Congress workers and leaders feel there is no reason to support them," said Maken.
"Arvind Kejriwal is the person who stood with the likes of Baba Ramdev, General V K Singh, and Kiran Bedi during Anna movement and raised the monster of Modi," he charged.
"We can go for a secular alliance but how can we have alliance with those who raised the demon of Modi and spoke against Congress in the company of Baba Ramdev and Kiran Bedi," he asked.
On speculations of a possible seat-sharing arrangement between the AAP and the Congress for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP on Saturday said that it was undeterred by such a move.
Maken had borached the topic of alliance replying to a "so called offer" of three Lok Sabha seats to Congress by the AAP, in a tweet. Reacting to it, AAP spokesperson Dilip Pandey had said it was the Congress that had approached the AAP and not the other way around.
"Ajay Maken ji, some senior Congress leaders are in touch with the Aam Aadmi Party and they want our help in Punjab and Haryana, in return want a seat in Delhi," Pandey tweeted responding to Maken's tweet.
The AAP has announced the names of incharges for the five out of seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. It has yet to decide the names of incharges for remaining two seats.
Maken's statement comes after reports stating that Congress party is working on the possibility of an alliance with the AAP for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections emerged in the media. Sources said that the AAP offered the Congress a 5:2 ratio for seat sharing in Delhi - five seats for the AAP and two for the Congress. However, the Congress is insisting three out of the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi.
The speculations about the rumoured alliance got a further boost after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recently praised former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Twitter. "People missing an educated PM like Dr Manmohan Singh," he tweeted.
The last time the Congress and the AAP had come together to outwit the BJP following the 2013 Assembly elections in Delhi. Short of majority, the AAP that bagged 28 seats, but formed government with the support of the Congress which had got eight seats.
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