AAP plans to go solo in Haryana elections

New Delhi : Ending the suspense over an alliance with the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) decided on Monday to go solo in the Haryana Assembly polls as it released its first list of 20 candidates.

The decision came amid alliance talks between the AAP and the Congress that dragged on and in view of the nomination window for the polls closing on September 12. The 90-member Haryana Assembly is scheduled to go to polls on October 5.

The AAP has fielded candidates from Naraingarh, Assandh, Samalkha, Uchana Kalan, Dabwali, Meham, Rohtak, Bahadurgarh, Badli, Beri, Mahendragarh and Badshahpur. The Congress has already announced its candidates from these seats.

On the issue of an alliance with the Congress, AAP's Haryana president Sushil Gupta said, "I want to say it very clearly that we have been preparing for all the 90 seats since day one. There is not much time left for the polls, the last date for filing nominations is September 12. So the wait is over." He asserted that the AAP is in a position to provide a strong alternative in Haryana, adding that the party's second list of candidates will also be released soon. Another AAP leader, Sanjay Singh, said the party will fight the Haryana polls with full strength.

Earlier in the day, Gupta had said the AAP would release the names of its candidates from all 90 seats if the Congress failed to seal the deal by the evening. The talks between the two parties were stuck up over the number of seats to be contested by the AAP. According to sources, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party was demanding 10 seats, while the Congress had offered it only five.