AAP to contest Lok Sabha polls without any alliance: Sandeep Pathak

Panaji: 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 had 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 candidate in advance),” he said.

On issues of national interest, Pathak said, AAP will be with like-minded parties. “But election is a different thing,” he added.

The AAP leader held a series of meetings in Goa with his leaders to strengthen the party organisation. AAP has two MLAs in the 40-member Goa Assembly.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, AAP won only one seat out of over 40 it contested across nine states and Union Territories, down from its tally of 4 in 2014. The party recorded its highest vote share in the national capital at 18.10 per cent.