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Lok Sabha Election: INDIA bloc seat-sharing deal done in UP — Akhilesh Yadav’s SP to contest 63 seats, Congress 17
SP leader Ravidas Mehrotra shared details of the seat-sharing deal between the INDIA bloc allies in Uttar Pradesh and said that the SP will contest elections on 63 seats, while the Congress will fight on 17 seats.
Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pande announced on Wednesday that the party will contest on 17 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. He said the remaining 63 seats will have candidates of INDIA bloc — from Samajwadi Party (SP) and other parties.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai said the Samajwadi Party will contest elections on 63 seats while the Congress will contest on 17 seats in Uttar Pradesh. “The INDIA bloc will register victory in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and will defeat NDA. Our (Congress-Samajwadi Party) strategy is to stand firmly with each other," he added.
Which are the 17 seats to be contested by Congress
SP state chief Naresh Uttam Patel said the Congress will contest Raebareli, Amethi, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Kanpur and 12 other seats. Raebareli and Amethi were once considered pocket boroughs of the Congress. Meanwhile, Varanasi is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency.
Apart from Raebareli, Amethi and Varanasi, the other seats on which the Congress will be contesting include Kanpur City, Fatehpur Sekri, Basgaon, Saharanpur, Prayagraj, Maharajganj, Amroha, Jhansi, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Mathura, Sitapur, Barabanki and Deoria, SP state chief Naresh Uttam Patel was quoted by PTI as saying.
These statements came hours after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and leader Ravidas Mehrotra confirmed that the SP and the Congress will contest Lok Sabha Election 2024 together. Mehrotra also shared details of the seat-sharing deal and said that the SP will contest elections on 63 seats, while the Congress will fight on 17 seats.
"This will strengthen the INDIA alliance and INDIA will form its government in 2024...We have tried to stop the scattering of non-BJP votes...Samajwadi Party will contest elections on 63 seats and Congress on 17 seats. We will try to get all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh," Ravidas Mehrotra told news agency ANI.
Hours after Ravidas Mehrotra's statement, Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pande said, "I am delighted to tell you that it has been decided that in Uttar Pradesh the INC will contest on 17 seats and the remaining 63 seats will have candidates of INDIA Alliance - from SP and other parties."
Akhilesh Yadav confirmed on Wednesday that there will be an alliance between the SP and the Congress and that “everything will be cleared soon.”
On asking why he was not present twice for the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Yadav said, “All is well that ends well... Yes, there will be an alliance. There is no conflict. Everything will be out and clear soon... All is well that ends well...”
On Monday, the SP had said it offered 17 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh to the Congress. The two political parties are partners in the INDIA bloc, formed by opposition parties to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming general elections.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reportedly spoke with Akhilesh Yadav over phone on Wednesday to break the deadlock on Lok Sabha polls seat-sharing in Uttar Pradesh and give a final shape to an alliance at the earliest, sources told news agency PTI.
Sources said the alliance had been all but sealed and the only seat on which the SP had to take a call was Shrawasti which the Congress is asking for. The sources added that earlier the Congress was being given a "raw deal" with seats where winnability was low and the party was asking for alternative constituencies.
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Business NewsPoliticsNewsLok Sabha Election: INDIA bloc seat-sharing deal done in UP — Akhilesh Yadav’s SP to contest 63 seats, Congress 17
First Published:21 Feb 2024, 03:41 PM IST
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