Bhagwant Mann Says AAP To Win All 13 Lok Sabha Seats In Punjab Amid Seat-Sharing Talks With INDI Alliance Partner Congress

Despite no seat-sharing arrangement in place for the INDI Alliance, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann claimed on Wednesday (17 January) that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will win all 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

This remark comes after senior leaders of Congress and AAP engaged in talks to discuss seat-sharing for Delhi and Punjab. Reportedly, AAP proposed allocating six out of the 13 seats in Punjab to Congress.

Contrary to this proposition, Mann was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times, "It will be 13-0 (in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections). The AAP will win all the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab," This statement may create tensions within the alliance.

However, given AAP leader Raghav Chadha's recent statement, Mann's remark comes as no surprise. While announcing that AAP and Congress will contest together for the Chandigarh mayor election, Chadha hinted at something.

Answering a question on the seat-sharing arrangement, Chadha said, "Seat-sharing will be done in which states, in which states we will fight together and in which states separately, will be based on strategy, which will be decided in talks."

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress had won eight of the 13 seats in Punjab, while the AAP had to satiate with a lone seat won by now CM Bhagwant Mann.

When Bhagwant Mann vacated this seat to become Punjab CM, Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD) Simranjit Singh Mann became Sangrur MP bringing AAP's tally in Lok Sabha to zero for some time.

After a wait of a few months, AAP again had a lone MP in Lok Sabha with Sushil Kumar Rinku winning Jalandhar by-polls. However, Congress remains much stronger than AAP in Lok Sabha.

However, the AAP's bargaining chip in seat-sharing discussions is the landslide victory it had in the 2022 Punjab elections. AAP won 92 seats, reducing Congress to just 18 in the 117-seat Assembly.