Would have been better for BJP had Congress-AAP alliance happened, says Harsh Vardhan

PTI, May 4, 2019, 10:39 AM IST

New Delhi: The alliance talks between the Congress and the AAP may have failed, but for Union minister Harsh Vardhan, the tie-up would have been better for the BJP not just in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, but for next year’s Delhi Assembly election too.

“For us, it is not a question of whether the alliance has taken place or not. Personally, I feel if they had allied with each other and if we defeated them with that understanding, it would have been better for the BJP, because then we would have taken care of the next election also,” the Chandni Chowk candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha polls and the sitting MP from the seat said.

“As far as the BJP is concerned, I will be the happiest person in Delhi if this alliance happens between both the parties (Congress, AAP). Whether they fight together or alone, we are going to have a hands-down victory.

“The BJP is far ahead of both the parties, whether alone or together. People are giving an overwhelming response to the BJP. So, no other question arises from this whole situation,” the Union minister of science and technology, earth sciences and environment, forests and climate change said.

Talks between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for an alliance ended on April 18 following a prolonged drama after senior leaders from both parties confirmed that there was no further scope for it.

In the Lok Sabha polls, Vardhan is pitted against the Congress’s Jai Prakash Agarwal and the AAP’s Pankaj Gupta in the Chandni Chowk constituency. Polling for all the seven parliamentary seats in Delhi will be held on May 12 and the results will be announced on May 23.