Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said that his party will remain in alliance with the Congress for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024 and that there was no dispute with Rahul Gandhi.
Speaking to reporters on the seat sharing with the Congress, the Samajwadi Party chief said, “All is well that ends well…Yes, there will be an alliance. There is no conflict. Everything will be out and clear soon…”
The state units of both parties are likely to hold a joint press conference soon to formally announce the alliance.
As per Sources, the Samajwadi Party has agreed to give 17–19 seats to the Congress in Uttar Pradesh as part of their seat-sharing agreement. The state has 80 Lok Sabha constituencies.
As per the latest arrangement, Congress has been given the Sitapur seat instead of Hathras. The Congress had initially submitted a list of 28 seats it wanted to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
The alliance, if it goes forward, would come as a relief for the fledging INDIA opposition bloc. The bloc has already faced setbacks, with Trinamool Congress and AAP declaring that they would fight the Lok Sabha polls in Bengal and Punjab respectively.
The development comes even as the Samajwadi Party sprung a surprise on the Congress by unilaterally declaring candidates for 31 seats.
On Tuesday, the Samajwadi Party declared five candidates, fielding senior leader Shivpal Yadav from Budaun parliamentary constituency. Shivpal Yadav is the uncle of Akhilesh Yadav.
The party also fielded Surendra Singh Patel from Varanasi, the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iqra Hasan from Kairana, Praveen Singh Aron from Bareilly and Ajendra Singh Rajput from Hamirpur.
On Monday, the party declared 11 candidates, including don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's brother and BSP MP Afzal Ansari. On January 30, the Samajwadi Party announced its first list of candidates for 16 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.
