Stage now set for AAP-Cong final act

NEW DELHI: With time rapidly running out for an AAP-Congress alliance to take shape, AAP has also proposed an alternative formula for eight seats (seven Delhi and one Chandigarh). Under this, AAP will keep five seats for itself in Delhi and give two to Congress besides the one in Chandigarh. According to sources, AAP MP Sanjay Singh has proposed to Congress that his party will support the Congress candidate in Chandigarh if an alliance is formed in Delhi on the 5:2 formula.
Sources in Congress said AAP's proposals have been received and will be discussed with Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who has to take a final call. They, however, added that Congress was ready to announce an alliance with AAP within an hour if the latter was ready to give three seats to the party in Delhi.
Interestingly, JJP chief Dushyant Chautala told TOI that his party was not going with Congress. This could, however, be just pressure tactics by JJP because sources in AAP claimed they were not negotiating with Congress without JJP's consent.
The fresh offers from AAP indicate that the party is bending to Congress's will in the interest of an alliance which the party claims will lead to the defeat of BJP on all 17 seats. Sources said 7:2:1 was Congress's formula while AAP was insisting on 6:3:1 (6 Congress, 3 JJP and 1 AAP). The 6:3:1 formula did not go down well with Congress which unofficially announced that the chapter of an alliance could be considered to be over unless AAP agreed to the Delhi-specific formula of 4:3.
In the morning, AAP postponed the process of nominations for three of its candidates - in North West, Chandni Chowk and East Delhi. The AAP candidates Gugan Singh (North West), Pankaj Gupta (Chandni Chowk) and Atishi (East Delhi) were scheduled to file their nominations on Saturday. Of these three seats, Congress wants Chandni Chowk and North West Delhi. If an alliance is indeed forged, the two AAP candidates for these seats will have to withdraw. Congress also wants the New Delhi seat from where former Union minister Ajay Maken is preparing to contest.
Announcing the postponement of the filing of nominations, AAP leader Gopal Rai said that the three candidates would file their nominations on Monday if there was no response from Congress to AAP's fresh proposal. April 23, Tuesday, is the last date for filing nominations. Rai said AAP was making efforts to form an alliance "to save the country from the Modi-Shah duo." If things don't work out, AAP's South Delhi candidate Raghav Chadha, North East candidate Dilip Pandey and New Delhi candidate Brijesh Goyal will also file their nominations on Monday. AAP's West Delhi candidate, Balbir Singh Jakhar, has already filed his nomination.
Despite hectic efforts by AAP, uncertainty marks the future of the alliance because a senior Congress leader said that the party has made it clear time and again to AAP that the alliance will be confined to Delhi and the seat-sharing formula would be 4:3. On Thursday, the AAP-JJP alliance had announced four candidates and JJP had ruled out any possibility of a tie-up with Congress in Haryana. JJP chief Chautala had stated that his party won't withdraw any of the four candidates it had announced.