UP polls: Congress jockeys for ‘specific’ seats, says talks with SP have begun

The Congress on Wednesday said it has sought specific constituencies in Uttar Pradesh as part of the seat-sharing agreement with the Samajwadi Party for the next year’s Assembly polls in the state. Speaking to mediapersons in Lucknow, the UP in-charge of the Congress, Rajendra Pal Gautam, said the party has started the seat-sharing talks with INDIA bloc constituents in UP and expects a “respectable and honourable” arrangement.

“On the basis of our organisational strength, the confidence people have shown in us and our performance, we have put forward our demand for certain seats. Discussions have begun, and we are confident that the final arrangement will be honourable.

The details will be shared once the agreement is finalised,” the Congress leader said without elaborating which seats the party is keen to contest. Gautam said the nationwide popularity of Rahul Gandhi, the Congress MP from Raebareli and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, had contributed to the INDIA bloc’s performance in Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when the alliance won 43 of the state’s 80 seats.

“The results of the Lok Sabha elections, in which the INDIA bloc won 43 seats in Uttar Pradesh, show the impact of Rahul Gandhi’s leadership and influence. The Congress is also strengthening its organisation at the grassroots, and we believe our organisational base is becoming stronger,” he asserted.

The Congress and the Samajwadi Party had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh as INDIA bloc allies. The Samajwadi Party won 37 seats and the Congress six, taking the alliance’s tally to 43. For the Congress, which has just two MLAs but won six Lok Sabha seats in 2024, the negotiations are also about securing enough space to rebuild itself in a state it once dominated.

Sources said that senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is actively taking part in the seat-sharing talks with senior leadership of the SP. While Samajwadi Party leaders say that the Congress would be offered close to 50-60 seats, the Congress, on the other hand, is maintaining "respectable numbers" as its bargain.

After initially speaking of contesting 150 seats, Gautam recently said: “Who asked for 150 seats? I had actually spoken about 200,” arguing for “equal respect and equal share”. Saharanpur MP and party’s newly appointed working president of the state unit, Imran Masood, publicly urged Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh to settle the alliance quickly.

“Finalise the alliance if you have to have an alliance,” he said, adding that if Akhilesh had to lead, “dil bhi aapko bada karna padega (you will have to have a large heart)”. Maulshree Seth is an Assistant Editor with Read More