Citing the availability of limited time ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) unilaterally declared its three candidates from Assam on Thursday (8 February), marking another rift in INDI Alliance.

Making the announcement, AAP leader Sandeep Pathak said that Manoj Dhanowar will contest from Dibrugarh, Dr Bhaben Chaudhary from Guwahati and Rishi Raj Kaundinya from Sonitpur.

Pathak claimed that seat-sharing talks have been going on for a long time and now they are “tired” of it. They want to contest elections to win, for which they need ample time to prepare, Pathak said.

Claiming that they are with INDI Alliance, Pathak hoped that the Congress-led alliance would allot AAP those seats for which they announced candidates today. “Our first duty is to win elections,” Pathak said.

“All states were discussed but the discussions were inconclusive. When there are no results, one has to decide at some point to move towards the collective goal,” Pathak said hoping for INDI Alliance’s acceptance.

“INDI Alliance and Congress have to make a decision. I just want to say that if we want to win elections, time should not be wasted. Discussions on seat-sharing should be finalised,” the AAP leader added.

Notably, AAP is not the first party of INDI Alliance to unilaterally announce Lok Sabha candidates. Earlier, Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) had announced 16 Lok Sabha candidates unilaterally without keeping Congress in the loop.

Similarly, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee offered just two seats to Congress and when it refused, she pledged to not share a single seat. However, Rahul Gandhi claims she is part of INDI Alliance.