All seems to be not well within the INDIA bloc, as the frustration with the Congress over a delay in seat-sharing talks came out in the open during a press conference held by AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak.
:On merit basis, the Congress party does not deserve even a single seat in Delhi but keeping in mind the 'dharma of alliance', we are offering them one seat in Delhi. We propose Congress party to fight on 1 seat and AAP on 6 seats.
The Congress later acknowledged that there was a slight delay in the talks, and added that a middle path would be found in a few days.
"I admit that there has been a slight delay. But this is a difficult task because we are contesting against a few parties at the state level. INDIA Alliance is for the Lok Sabha 2024 elections. In Delhi and Punjab, we are contesting against the AAP. But we are united at the national level - that we have to defeat the BJP," Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, said.
"Resolving these matters is taking a little time. I agree that this should been done earlier, but there were some difficulties. There is no issue with DMK, NCP, Shiv Sena and Samajwadi Party. Difficulty is when it comes to West Bengal and Punjab. Our organisation wants to contest on more number of seats here, AAP and TMC want the same. A middle path would be found and within a few days, seat-sharing will be given its final form."