Even as various exit polls spelled its doom, the face of the Congress’ campaign for the recently-concluded Assembly polls said that the party “would go it alone” no matter what the people’s verdict and was opposed to the idea of extending support to the runner-up in the race for the Delhi Vidhan Sabha.
Ajay Maken’s response to the dismal prospects of the Congress, which consist of the party winning “zero to three” seats as per most poll projections despite “general enthusiasm expressed by its candidates” at a stocktaking session, was that his party was also in favour of pushing for a hung Assembly depending on the actual tally of seats.
“There is no question of extending support to the Aam Aadmi Party and definitely not the Bharatiya Janata Party ; if we are able to touch double digits in our tally of seats, our strategy would be in favour of a hung Delhi Assembly,” Mr. Maken told The Hindu .
“If the poll projections are true, that is if we manage to get only three seats, we will respect and humbly accept the verdict of the people of Delhi, and function in whatever role that they hand to us as a party,” the former Union Minister, who contested as a potential MLA from North Delhi’s Sadar Bazar this time, said .
Reduced to a paltry seat share of eight in the 70-member House after the previous Assembly polls, the Congress had extended support to the AAP with its own share of 28 seats to form the government in 2013.
Speculation about a similar association with the AAP was rife in the week leading up to the polling day before Mr. Maken claimed that the Congress had been approached by the AAP’s national convener, Arvind Kejriwal, with a request to extend support which the latter had refused .
Despite Mr. Maken’s refusal, these speculations were further fanned on Saturday, even as polling was under way in the Capital, when Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, daughter of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, called the AAP a worthy opponent.
“It is an important opponent in these Assembly polls,” Ms. Vadra had said, adding that both the AAP and the Congress could learn from each other.
According to a source, the latest intelligence estimates put the number of seats that the AAP is expected to bag between 35 and 42, the BJP’s between 28 and 30, and from three to five for the Congress. Counting of votes is scheduled for Tuesday.
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