Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said that his party's alliance with the Congress is “off to a good start” with an agreement over 11 "strong" Lok Sabha seats in the state for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
"Our cordial alliance with Congress is off to a good start with 11 strong seats. This trend will move forward with the winning equation. 'INDIA' team and the 'PDA' (Backward, Dalit, Minority) strategy will change history," Akhilesh Yadav posted on X.
He, however, did not elaborate on which seats the two parties have agreed upon.
A senior UP Congress leader said that this marks the start of the seat-sharing process between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh for the coming Lok Sabha elections.
{{/usCountry}}A senior UP Congress leader said that this marks the start of the seat-sharing process between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh for the coming Lok Sabha elections.
{{/usCountry}}“More discussions will happen between the two parties, and more seats will be shared with the Congress,” the Congress leader said.
UP Congress committee president Ajay Rai said that talks are being held with the Samjwadi Party in a positive and cordial environment. He added that the decision regarding the seat sharing is being taken by a committee led by Congress leader Mukul Wasnik.
Earlier this month, Akhilesh Yadav held a meeting in Lucknow with party leaders that included former MPs, former MLAs, and former MLCs. He said winnability is a key criterion for deciding on seats.
The Samajwadi Party has already announced an alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) for the Lok Sabha polls. The Akhilesh Yadav-led party has agreed to leave seven seats for its ally the RLD in Uttar Pradesh.
"We and RLD's Jayant Choudhary had a good conversation. We discussed seven seats. We are also in conversation with Congress. Several meetings have taken place in Delhi. Very soon, more meetings will be held, and a way will be found. The INDIA alliance should be strong; the question is not of (number of) seats but of winning. Based on winnability, we all will take a decision together," he said, according to ANI.
The seat-sharing talks in Uttar Pradesh are crucial for INDIA alliance parties in their goal to take on the BJP collectively in the Lok Sabha. The state also holds importance for both the INDIA bloc and the BJP as it has the largest number of 80 Lok Sabha seats.