The Congress party on Thursday ruled out any possibility of forming an alliance with the AAP for the upcoming assembly polls in Haryana and Delhi. However, AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh confirmed that the INDIA bloc will contest elections together in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

In an interview with PTI, Ramesh mentioned that there is no one-size-fits-all formula for state elections within the INDIA bloc. The coalition will collaborate in states where Congress leaders and other alliance partners have reached a mutual agreement.

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“There is no INDIA ‘janbandhan’ in Punjab. In Haryana, we had given one seat to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Lok Sabha polls but I don’t think that INDIA janbandhan will be there for assembly polls. In Delhi, the AAP itself has said that INDIA janbandhan will not be there for assembly polls,” Ramesh claimed.

Ramesh stated, “In the context of West Bengal also, I had said that the INDIA bloc is for Lok Sabha polls but in states where the circumstances are such that our leaders of the state and leaders of our alliance partners want, the alliance will remain. In Maharashtra, the alliance will be there with Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SCP). In Jharkhand, we have an alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morch.”

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Where state Congress leaders and the respective alliance parties agree, there will be an alliance, he noted, adding that there is no single formula for forming alliances for assembly polls.

When asked specifically about alliances in Haryana and Delhi, Ramesh said, “There is no scope (for alliance) in Delhi and Haryana.” Jharkhand, Haryana and Maharashtra are slated to go for polls later this year, while assembly elections in Delhi will be held early next year.

Last month, Delhi minister and AAP leader Gopal Rai clarified that the party’s alliance with Congress was only for the Lok Sabha elections.

A few days ago, a Congress leader blamed AAP for the alliance’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections in the capital. “I believe if we had not contested the elections with them, then Congress’ seats would have increased in the elections. Because of the Excise scam, the Congress suffered a loss in the Lok Sabha elections,” Congress leader Abhishek Dutt told ANI.