The Congress may not contest any of the nine assembly seats up for grabs in the upcoming polls scheduled for November 13 in Uttar Pradesh. Party insiders described the Congress’s decision as ‘part of its evolving political strategy’ and said it was in line with its wider seat-sharing arrangement, which also includes the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections on November 20.
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, however, said talks with the Congress are still ongoing, while in Maharashtra, he hopes his party can contest 12 seats, decided by the state president. UP Congress chief Ajai Rai told News18 that they will always follow the ‘Gathbandhan Dharm’, unlike the SP, and the final call on the number of seats the party will contest will be taken by the party leadership.
However, amid endless talks and discussions between the SP and its bloc partner INDIA Congress, party insiders said that the Congress may choose not to contest the UP assembly elections on one of the seats and the party will continue to follow the ‘Gathbandhan Dharm’ and will support the SP in all seats. “We may not be contesting in one of the seats, but the workers will continue to support the SP in all the seats in UP,” a party insider said.
According to party insiders, the Congress’s decision to scrap the UP polls is a result of its rejection of a proposal to contest five assembly seats. Some senior leaders, however, suggest that as part of the new seat-sharing formula, the Congress will give the Samajwadi Party (SP) a free hand in UP, while in Maharashtra, it is expected that the SP will field candidates in fewer seats, allowing the Congress. to contest the maximum number of seats in the upcoming state Assembly polls.
On October 9, a day after the Congress suffered an unexpected defeat in the Haryana assembly elections, the party again surprised its bloc partner INDIA SP when it announced candidates for seven of the 10 assembly seats up for polls, including the incumbent. reviewed by Congress.
Uttar Pradesh Congress representative Avinash Pandey also expressed his displeasure, saying, “This is a unilateral announcement, and we did not ask about it.”
SP has announced candidates for Karhal, Katehari, Kundarki, Phulpur, Sisamu, Majhawan and Meerapur. The much-talked-about SP names include Akhilesh Yadav’s cousin, Tej Pratap Yadav, who fielded from Karhal, while the Congress was offered two seats, namely Khair and Ghaziabad Sadar, against its demand for five seats.
The Congress, which won six parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, has demanded that the SP provide the five vacant assembly seats previously won by the BJP in 2022. A senior Congress leader said the party is particularly interested in Majhawan. , Ghaziabad, Khair, Meerapur, and Phulpur seats. However, the SP has announced its candidates for Majhawan, Meerapur, and Phulpur, complicating seat-sharing negotiations.
Ajay Rai, Uttar Pradesh Congress President, told News18, “We will fight together to remove this forest raj. In UP by-elections, our fight will remain against BJP as always. We always follow ‘Gathbandhan Dharm,’ unlike SP, which announced candidates for seven seats without discussing our demand for a five-seat contest. However, the final decision on the distribution of seats will be taken by the party leadership.
Speaking on seat-sharing discussions with the Congress for the Uttar Pradesh by-elections, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said, “Discussions with the Congress on seat-sharing in UP are ongoing.” About the Maharashtra Assembly polls, he said the SP will contest only seats where it has a strong organisation. “We have certain parameters to demand ticket shares. The president of our country has decided on candidates for 12 seats, and we hope they will be given,” he said.
Bypolls were initially scheduled for 10 seats in UP; However, the Election Commission of India announced elections for only nine seats – Karhal, Sisamau, Kundarki, Ghaziabad, Phulpur, Majhawan, Katehri, Khair, and Meerapur – excluding Milkipur. Voting is set for November 13, with the count on November 23. SP has so far announced candidates for a total of seven seats, including Milkipur.
