An agreement regarding seat allocation has been successfully reached between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party for the imminent Lok Sabha elections. Under this arrangement, the Congress will be fielding candidates for 17 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, while the Samajwadi Party, under the leadership of Akhilesh Yadav, along with other alliance partners of the INDIA bloc, will nominate candidates for the remaining 63 seats.
Expressing his satisfaction with the decision, Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pande announced during a press conference on Wednesday that the INC will be contesting on 17 seats in Uttar Pradesh, while the remaining 63 seats will be allocated to candidates from the INDIA Alliance, including those from the SP and other affiliated parties.
This development marks a significant milestone as the first major seat-sharing agreement within the Opposition-led INDIA bloc, which was established in June of the previous year with the objective of challenging the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the forthcoming 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
According to the terms of the agreement, the Congress will be focusing its electoral efforts on key constituencies such as Raebareli and Amethi, along with others including Kanpur Nagar, Fatehpur Sikri, Basgaon, Saharanpur, Prayagraj, Maharajganj, Amroha, Jhansi, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Mathura, Sitapur, Barabanki, and Deoria. Notably, the Congress will also be contesting the Varanasi seat, which is currently held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The finalization of seat-sharing in Uttar Pradesh was facilitated by a meeting between Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Akhilesh Yadav, aimed at resolving the protracted deadlock between the two parties. Following this crucial discussion, Akhilesh Yadav confirmed the inevitability of an alliance between the Samajwadi Party and Congress in Uttar Pradesh, emphasizing the absence of any lingering disputes.
Sources close to the negotiations revealed that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra played a pivotal role in architecting the seat-sharing deal. Initiating discussions with Akhilesh Yadav after consulting with Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's proactive involvement was instrumental in bridging the gap between the parties and securing a mutually agreeable agreement.
