SP, Congress meet: Coordination committees to be set up at various levels

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav introduced the Congress leaders to the party’s office-bearers in districts holding the Lok Sabha seats allocated to the Congress quota. Under the seat-sharing agreement between both parties as part of the INDIA bloc partnership in the state, the grand old party has secured 17 seats to contest in the 2024 polls.

LUCKNOW: Leaders of the Samajwadi Party and the Congress sat together on Monday to ensure that the understanding reached by the two parties at the state level percolated down to the booth-level workers in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, UP Congress president Ajay Rai and other leaders during a meeting of Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, at SP office in Lucknow on Monday (PTI)

A Congress team comprising Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president Ajay Rai and Congress Legislature party leader Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ visited the Samajwadi Party headquarters to interact with SP functionaries for smooth coordination during the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav introduced the Congress leaders to the party’s office-bearers in districts holding the Lok Sabha seats allocated to the Congress quota. Under the seat-sharing agreement between both parties as part of the INDIA bloc partnership in the state, the grand old party has secured 17 seats to contest in the 2024 polls. The Lok Sabha seats included in the Congress quota are Raebareli, Amethi, Varanasi, Kanpur City, Fatehpur Sikri, Basgaon, Saharanpur, Prayagraj, Maharajganj, Amroha, Jhansi, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Mathura, Sitapur, Barabanki, and Deoria.

“SP chief Akhilesh Yadav formally introduced all the SP functionaries to the Congress leaders to ensure smooth coordination,” said a senior Congress leader on condition of anonymity.

Coordination committees are likely to be set up at the state and district levels. SP leaders from 17 districts had assembled at the SP headquarters for the coordination meeting, while Avinash Pandey, along with other senior Congress leaders, attended the meeting.

“In Uttar Pradesh, we are dedicated to moving forward with complete coordination. The voices raised against the injustice and atrocities of the BJP will echo across the country and awaken every Indian,” Pandey said in a social media post on Monday.