The Punjab unit of the Aam Aadmi Party has virtually ruled out an alliance with the Congress in the state. “We will never forge any alliance with the Congress in Punjab,” Punjab Tourism Minister Anmol Gagan Maan said interacting with the media on Wednesday.

The minister asserted that the party would prefer contesting alone under the leadership of CM Bhagwant Mann, adding that the situation may differ at the national level.

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The decision of not having an alliance with the Congress had been taken together as a unit under the leadership of Bhagwant Mann, she said.

The decision may come as a jolt to the INDIA alliance of 26 Opposition parties which have united under the banner to take on the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre in the Lok Sabha Elections slated to be held in 2024. The Aam Aadmi Party is a part of this alliance.

The remark comes just days after the INDIA alliance met in Mumbai and said that the parties will begin discussions on seat-sharing soon. Punjab, which the Aam Aadmi Party swept in the Assembly elections held in 2022, sends 13 MPs to the Lok Sabha. The AAP would be hoping to get a lion’s share of seats in the state where the Congress is its primary competitor.

Meanwhile, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja held a meeting with all MLAs and district committees for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and said that the party is preparing to contest all Lok Sabha seats in the state. 

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“Punjab Congress is preparing to contest all 13 seats in Punjab as per the directions of Congress high command, which has clearly asked leaders in the state to prepare for all the 13 seats,” Raja said.

While the two parties are members of the opposition I.N.D.I.A Bloc, the Congress branch in Punjab has consistently resisted any electoral alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party.

At the meeting which was chaired by the state chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, party leaders expressed displeasure over the proposed poll alliance with the ruling AAP.