(Image source from: Businesstoday.in)

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress were unable to reach an agreement on sharing seats for the upcoming Haryana Assembly election, according to sources. The parties, which are part of the opposition INDIA bloc nationally, may contest the polls separately. The AAP wanted to fight in at least 10 seats, but the Congress was only willing to give them up to three seats. Last week, the parties had agreed in principle to jointly contest the Haryana polls. Discussions were held at multiple levels, during which the Congress negotiator stated that the alliance would only work if it benefits both parties. Sources said the AAP was insisting on the Kalayat seat and at least one seat in the Kurukshetra region. Seeing no progress in the seat-sharing talks, the Haryana AAP chief said they would release their full candidate list if the Congress couldn't decide by the evening. Shortly after, the AAP released its first list of 20 candidates for the October 5 Haryana assembly polls.

Anurag Dhanda from Kalayat and Indu Sharma from Bhiwani have been chosen as candidates. Vikas Nehra will represent Meham, and Bijender Hooda will contest from Rohtak. The party has released its first list and plans to release a second list soon, as the elections are rapidly approaching. Sushil Gupta said they waited patiently for the alliance, as their organization is strong in every assembly, and they wanted to contest the elections. Deepender Hooda, a Congress MP, stated that their party's list has also been released. He criticized the BJP's 10-year rule, claiming it has led to increased unemployment, crime, and drug abuse in Haryana, making it the worst-performing state in these areas. The Congress has already announced 41 candidates. The upcoming elections in Haryana will take place on October 5, and the results will be announced on October 8. The political parties have finalized their list of candidates and submitted them to the party leadership.