Amar discusses seat-sharing with Sonia

Samajawadi Party general secretary Amar Singh admitted "practical difficulties" in seat-sharing in Uttar Pradesh in next year's Lok Sabha elections after discussions with Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Samajawadi Party general secretary Amar Singh on Saturday admitted "practical difficulties" in seat-sharing in Uttar Pradesh in next year's Lok Sabha elections after discussions with Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

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“The Congress wants some of those seats which have some of our dependable and popular leaders as sitting MPs. These practical difficulties are there, which I think would be resolved soon," Singh told reporters after meeting Gandhi.

"Rae Bareli and Amethi are the two seats which we have already committed to Sonia Gandhi," he said. The two constituencies are represented respectively by Sonia Gandhi and her son, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi.

"We are here for supporting the Congress and not to surrender before it... The final announcement (on seat-sharing) would be made only after the talks are over," he said.

According to sources in the Samajwadi Party, it has finalised candidates for 55 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state and has identified 15 seats for the Congress.