AAP, Cong to forge election pact for 2024: Isudan Gadhvi

Ahmedabad: The AAP and Congress would jointly contest the 2024 general elections under a seat-sharing formula in Gujarat as both parties are members of the INDIA alliance, announced Isudan Gadhvi, the president of the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Gujarat unit on Monday. In response to this statement, the Congress state unit stated it would follow the directions of the central leadership of the party.“Both AAP and Congress are part of the INDIA alliance. This electoral alliance will also be extended to Gujarat. While the discussions about the alliance are in the preliminary stages, it is certain that AAP and Congress will participate in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat with a seat-sharing arrangement. If our plans unfold as expected, I can assure you that the BJP will not be able to secure all 26 seats in Gujarat this time,” he said.Responding to the announcement, state Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said, “I have just learned about this announcement. Seat-sharing agreements with other parties are determined by the central leadership. It is their prerogative to decide pre-poll alliances. The state leadership will discuss this matter when raised by the central leadership.”The BJP dismissed the potential alliance between AAP and Congress, asserting that it would not impact the ruling party’s electoral prospects and labelled AAP as the “B team” of the Congress. “We have secured all 26 LS seats in Gujarat for the past two terms. Our target this time is to win all the seats with a margin of 5 lakh votes,” remarked Gujarat BJP spokesperson Rutvij Patel.