The Congress has termed the alliance “off to a good start” as Uttar Pradesh sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha and is said to be the gateway to the power at the Centre.
Congress-Samajwadi Party Alliance: With the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 barely a few weeks away, one big development has been reported from the state of Uttar Pradesh where the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party and Congress closed an alliance according to which the grand old party will contest 11 out of the 80 seats. This was announced by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
The Congress has termed the alliance “off to a good start” as Uttar Pradesh sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha and is said to be the gateway to the power at the Centre.
Meanwhile, the Congress has said that “constructive seat-sharing talks” are underway between senior party leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav and it will inform once a formula is finalised.
Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh said that Ashok Gehlot is holding talks with Akhilesh Yadav over seat-sharing and that the talks are being conducted in a positive and constructive environment in response to Yadav’s remarks at a press conference.
“We will inform you once a formula is finalised,” said Ramesh.
If the alliance and the formula are reached in the state then it is going to be advantageous for the Congress, the SP, and the opposition’s INDIA bloc.
Ramesh’s remarks came minutes after Yadav in a post in Hindi on X said, “Our cordial alliance with the Congress is off to a good start with 11 strong seats. This trend will move forward with the winning equation. ‘INDIA’ team and ‘PDA’ strategy will change history.”
PDA is the acronym coined by the SP chief for Pichhda (backward), Dalit, and Alpsankhyak (minority).
Yadav, highlighting the need of finalising seat allocations, said that the grand alliance should not delay the preparations in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming elections as the BJP has already initiated preparations. “Now that the BJP has initiated election preparations in Uttar Pradesh, there should be no further delays. The BJP has conducted all its programs in Uttar Pradesh with an eye on the elections. Therefore, there should be no delay in the alliance as well. The INDIA bloc will show the way to the BJP,” he said.
Earlier, there were rumours that “all is not well” in the INDIA bloc but with the announcement of seat-sharing by Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday, the prospects look bright for the two opposition parties. This major political development is also significant as there are news of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar rejoining the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
In West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) has said that it will fight the elections alone. The same has been conveyed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab.
(With agency inputs)