The Aam Aadmi Party will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections across the country on its own, without having any alliance with anyone, a senior party functionary said on Friday, asserting that it will be with like-minded parties on matters of national interest.
AAP national general secretary Sandeep Pathak told reporters in Goa that his party will go solo in next year’s general election, including both the seats in the coastal state. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress won one seat each in Goa.
Pathak’s assertion comes amid efforts by the Congress to cement opposition unity. Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi recently met NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Kharge has also held talks with Left veterans Sitaram Yechury and D. Raja.
Asked about projecting AAP’s most prominent face, Arvind Kejriwal, as the prime ministerial candidate, Pathak said, “Let the country decide who should be the PM. We don’t believe in these things (announcing PM candidates in advance),” he said. The AAP leader held a series of meetings in Goa with his leaders to strengthen the party’s organisation. AAP has two MLAs in the 40-member Goa Assembly.