Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 15: Even while insisting that the opposition INDIA bloc will remain intact to defeat the BJP in the coming elections to the Uttar Pradesh state Assembly, the Samajwadi Party on Sunday indicated that it would not accept the Congress party’s “unreasonable demand” for the allocation of at least 181 seats to contest the elections in the 403-member state Assembly.
On the eve of the meeting of senior leaders of the two parties to discuss the seat-sharing formula, the SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said his party has already made up its mind how many seats it would contest and the number of seats the party would offer to its alliance partners. “We have made up our mind on how many seats we will contest. The Samajwadi Party and the INDIA alliance will defeat the BJP together,” he said, adding that the “theft” of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya will be a major poll issue.
He said the Congress has expressed its wish to contest at least 181 seats in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, while asserting that the INDIA bloc would remain united to defeat the ruling BJP in the State. Asked if he is considering an alliance with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, Mr Yadav said he does not think of other alliances while being part of an existing one.
He said the SP has a good experience of forging alliances and has brought together people who believe in the principles of B R Ambedkar. “The INDIA alliance with the Congress is the same alliance that we had earlier. I do not see any change in it,” the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said. The BSP is not a part of the INDIA opposition bloc.
Showing that a tussle over seat-sharing has begun between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress ahead of the assembly elections, the SP MP Shivpal Singh Patel called the Congress demand for 181 seats “unreasonable” saying the Congress would get fewer than 100 seats.
Patel said the Congress had submitted a list of 181 seats it wanted to contest, but the seat-sharing arrangement had not yet been finalised. He clarified that the Congress had only put forward its demand and that the final decision would be taken by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Patel said he hoped that “they (Congress) would agree on 50-60 seats or maximum 65 seats.” Questioning the Congress’s demand, Patel pointed out that the party currently has only two MLAs in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, while the Samajwadi Party has a considerably stronger presence.
He argued that, given its current strength, the Congress does not even merit 50 seats; therefore, demanding 181 seats is unjustified. He further warned that allocating an excessive number of seats to the Congress could lead to a waste of resources.
Patel emphasised that the efforts of grassroots workers must also be taken into account while deciding the seat-sharing formula. Patel cautioned that conceding too many seats would demoralise SP’s grassroots workers who have tirelessly built public trust across the state through ‘PDA’ (Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhayak) Panchayats and rigorous fieldwork.
He asserted that public support in the state firmly aligns with Akhilesh Yadav’s governance and welfare initiatives. While acknowledging that alliances require mutual cooperation, Patel cautioned that exceeding reasonable limits would jeopardise electoral outcomes.
Senior leaders of the two parties are scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss the seat-sharing formula for the coming elections. This meeting will mark the beginning of formal talks to determine the number of seats and the final formula for the alliance. Patel said if the Congress refused to settle for fewer than 181 seats, the final decision would rest with Akhilesh Yadav. He reiterated that the SP chief’s decision would be final for the party.
Buoyed with relatively good performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when the Congress won six seats in the state, the Congress is eying about 200 seats to contest in the Assembly elections. “We have already provided them with a list comprising approximately 180 seats—and the talks are set to begin soon. Tentatively, several rounds of meetings will take place on the 17th, during which everything will be finalised,” Congress’ Uttar Pradesh election in charge Rajendra Pal Gautam said. But the SP is in no mood to spare more than 60 to 70 seats to the grand old party.
During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress-SP alliance tasted significant success by winning 43 out of Uttar Pradesh’s 80 Parliamentary seats, with the SP bagging 37 and the Congress winning six. However, Uttar Pradesh Assembly dynamics present a different picture.
In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the Congress contested 399 seats independently but managed to win only two, down from seven in 2017. In contrast, the SP demonstrated robust growth, winning 111 of the 347 seats it contested in 2022—a massive improvement over its 47 seats in 2017.
Expressing the confidence that the SP-led INDIA bloc would throw out the BJP for its communal politics, Mr Yadav has said, “The people of Ayodhya and the sensible voters of Uttar Pradesh ended the BJP’s communal politics at the very place from where it had started. They have given a message that change is coming,” he said.
Yadav accused the BJP of failing to protect the religious sentiments of devotees by allowing a “theft” of offerings made at the Ram temple. “Crores of devotees donated money and offerings out of their faith. That money was stolen. Our chief minister (Yogi Adityanath) was setting a world record by visiting Ayodhya, but he did not know that offerings were being stolen there,” he said.
On the possibility of a shift among the BSP’s traditional voters, Mr Yadav said people from the Bahujan community, Ambedkarite groups and those committed to protecting the Constitution and democracy are coming together under the “PDA” (backward communities, Dalits and minorities) umbrella.
He claimed that the declining support for the BJP in UP was reflected in its losses in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Mr Yadav rejected suggestions that the 2024 Lok Sabha poll verdict was merely a message to the Centre and that voters could again back the BJP in the Uttar Pradesh election. He said the verdict was against injustice, discrimination, unemployment and the failure to fulfil promises on investments and jobs.
Targeting the Uttar Pradesh government, he alleged that more than 20 competitive examination papers have been leaked in the state. The former chief minister also raised the issue of 69,000 assistant teachers’ recruitment, alleging that candidates are being denied their reservation rights. He accused the government of challenging court verdicts in cases involving recruitment and reservation.
He also criticised the Agniveer recruitment scheme in the armed forces, saying it has adversely affected employment opportunities for youngsters in Uttar Pradesh, which has traditionally supplied a large number of recruits to the armed forces.
On the law-and-order front, Mr Yadav alleged that fake encounters and police excesses have led to deaths in Uttar Pradesh and accused the BJP-led state government of failing to address concerns raised by courts. The SP chief also accused the government of corruption in infrastructure projects and cited the condition of expressways. He accused the BJP of discriminating against Uttar Pradesh and failing to deliver on its promises of investment, employment and development.