Haryana Seat Sharing: AAP banks on its Punjab power as it gears up to battle BJP in Kurukshtera

The Aam Aadmi Party was looking to contest three seats in Haryana, but had to eventually settle for one — Kurukshetra — in the arrangement that it finalised with the Congress for the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress will contest the remaining nine seats in the state, but, as things stand the battle for Kurkushetra will likely be an interesting one.

The BJP represents all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana and party’s state unit chief Nayab Saini is the MP from Kurukshetra — a district that is being nurtured and developed by the Manohar Lal Khattar-led dispensation as a spiritual hub with the annual International Gita Mohatsav at its centre.

The Lok Sabha constituency covers entire Kurukshetra and Kaithal districts and parts of Yamunanagar district of Haryana. Both Kurukshetra and Kaithal share border with Punjab, a state where the AAP is in power.

“Since they [AAP] have a government in Punjab, they think they will have an edge. The alliance will strongly back their candidate,” said senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, adding,“Actually, AAP was asking for three seats that touch Punjab border. These included Ambala and Sirsa too. Both are reserved seats. They eventually got Kurukshetra”.

AAP Haryana president Sushil Gupta too confirmed as much. “Yes, it is correct that we wanted Ambala, Sirsa and Kurukshetra because all three touch Punjab borders. Kurukshetra borders Patiala district and we have a strong government in Punjab. Sharing borders with a state where we have a robust government definitely gives us an edge”.

Incidentally, the two constituents of the INDIA bloc have no alliance for Lok Sabha polls in Punjab. Senior Congress leader Mukul Wasnik, talking to reporters in Delhi, said that given the “special