Saying it is “tired of talking” about seat-sharing with alliance partners, the Aam Aadmi Party’s central leadership on Thursday announced candidates for three out of Assam’s 14 Lok Sabha seats. At the same time, the party insisted that it is “strongly” with the Opposition INDIA bloc.

AAP has not yet announced any candidates from either Delhi or Punjab, states where the party is in power.

The party, which has previously not contested any parliamentary or Assembly elections in Assam, is part of the INDIA bloc nationally and is also one of 15 parties in the United Opposition Forum alliance in Assam.

The United Opposition Forum had been stitched together even before the INDIA bloc was launched, and it had announced that it would field consensus candidates to all 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state. None of the other parties in the alliance – Congress, TMC, RJD, CPI(M), CPI, and regional parties like Akhil Gogoi’s Raijor Dal and Lurinjyoti Gogoi’s Assam Jatiya Parishad – have announced candidates in the state.

Of the 14 current MPs from Assam, nine are from the BJP, three are from Congress, one is from the All India United Democratic Front, and one is an Independent.

On Thursday, AAP’s national general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak made an official announcement declaring its state president Bhaben Choudhury as its Guwahati candidate, state vice-president Manoj Dhanowar as its Dibrugarh candidate, and state organising secretary Rishiraj Kaundinya as Sonitpur candidate. Having claimed these three seats through its announcement, the party sought to appear to leave the ball in its alliance partners’ court, saying that it hoped the INDIA alliance would give these seats to AAP.

“We have quite little time left for Lok Sabha elections… That’s why AAP is announcing three candidates from Assam for the Lok Sabha elections… We will start our work and preparations in full strength from these three seats now and I have full faith that the INDIA alliance will give these three seats to AAP,” Pathak said.

Suggesting that the seat-sharing talks within the alliance have stretched on for too long, he said a greater sense of urgency is called for as the elections draw closer.

“There have been conversations with the INDIA alliance for many days now. It has been months of talking. Now we are tired of talking. We have to fight elections, win elections… It is very clear that when you come to a gathbandhan (alliance), and you want to win an election, if your target is to win, time and strategy become very important. We are getting tired of talking… We are strongly with the alliance, but the first duty is winning elections. Everything should be expedited. The more it is expedited, the better are the chances to win,” he said.

Back in Assam, the party’s vice-president said AAP is willing to support any candidate put up by the alliance in any of the other 11 seats from the state. “It is not like we are going against the INDIA alliance. We are choosing to contest in just three seats… We will support the other parties’ candidates in all the other 11 seats,” he said.

In the meantime, Assam Congress president Bhupen Bora, who has led the effort to bring together the United Opposition Forum in the state, said he continued to hope that all the seats in Assam are contested through an understanding between the alliance partners in the state.

“In the Opposition alliance that we started in Assam, there was a resolution to fight against the BJP in Lok Sabha and next Assembly elections together… As national parties, we are dependent on our national leadership. Our conversations have been going on with Bhaben Choudhury, but the national leadership (of AAP) has announced three candidates for Assam from their side – that is their party’s decision. I can’t say much about it, but within Assam’s boundaries, until the final moment of nomination withdrawal, we will try to contest the election with an understanding. So, I will not abandon hope,” he said.