Rahul Gandhi dials Arvind Kejriwal amid seat-sharing dispute

The Gandhi scion is learned to have told the Delhi CM that the discussions should continue and both sides need to be accommodative.

New Delhi: Top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday dialled Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to bring alliance talks back on track after AAP's attack on the main opposition party, offering just one seat in Delhi saying it does not even deserve a single seat if one considers its electoral performance in the capital city.

Sources said Rahul's intervention came as he felt that AAP's outbursts would derail the I.N.D.I.A bloc, which is already beleaguered by the desertion of JD(U) and RLD as well as Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's announcement that her party will fight all 42 seats in West Bengal.

Rahul is learnt to have told Kejriwal that the discussions should continue and both sides need to be accommodative. Sources said the only option before the Opposition is to stand united and they should take all steps to ensure that they remain united.

Sources said Kejriwal told Rahul about the delay in the seat sharing exercise and that time was running out. He also told Rahul that AAP is serious about contesting in Gujarat and especially Bharuch. Rahul is learnt to have told Kejriwal that outstanding issues could be solved through dialogue.

Rahul's outreach came a day after the AAP said that even senior Congress leaders are "clueless" about the resumption of seat sharing exercise and that they will announce candidates in Delhi unilaterally if there was no forward movement.

AAP flashed electoral data to claim that they deserved eight seats in Gujarat and six in Delhi. Party's General Secretary (Organisation) Sandeep Pathak said Congress did not win a single seat in Lok Sabha and Assembly election while it won just nine out of 250 seats in municipal polls.

He also rubbished Congress' claim on Bharuch seat on emotional grounds saying late Ahmed Patel's daughter Mumtaz Patel, who is seeking the candidature, is a political greenhorn and “nepotism” would not help winning against the BJP. AAP also announced candidates for Goa and Gujarat, including in Bharuch.