Another Tie-Up For UP Polls? Congress, Samajwadi Party Leaders Look Ahead

New Delhi:

Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh less than a year away, preparations have already started in the BJP and the Opposition camps. While Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s cabinet has already been reshuffled, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party workers are looking forward to an alliance. Despite the absence of any announcement from either camp, leaders of both parties are convinced that an alliance is on the cards. 

The Samajwadi Party is aware that the alliance with the Congress during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections benefited both parties — together, they hold 43 of Uttar Pradesh’s 80 seats.  It only makes sense to continue it for the next election, they argue. 

But the road is still expected to be rocky – with the alliance yielding few dividends in the state level election. Local leaders of the Samajwadi Party had always held a grudge that the Congress no longer had a strong base in the state and was merely piggybacking on their party. 

These critics point out that after the disastrous 2017 results, the two parties had contested separately in 2022 and in that election, the Congress had won only two seats with a 2.33 per cent vote share. 

The friction between the two parties had continued well after the 2017 polls, and escalated after the Congress refused to allot any seats to the SP in Madhya Pradesh. 

The Congress leaders, though, are ebullient. 

Avinash Pande, Congress General Secretary and in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, told NDTV: “Our top leadership will decide on the Congress-SP alliance in Uttar Pradesh. Our current priority is building up the party organisation. Following the revision of the electoral rolls, we are focused on strengthening the organization in every district. We are bolstering our presence across all 403 seats to effectively take on the BJP.” 

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is touring every district in Uttar Pradesh. He visited Agra this Sunday.

The party has conducted caste surveys in every district. Following that, Yadav is visiting the districts to meet local leaders and party workers before deciding on ticket allocations.

UP Congress spokesperson and former MLA Akhilesh Pratap Singh told NDTV: “Our slogan is to cut the BJP down to half in UP in 2024 and wipe them out of the state in 2027”.

The Congress, he said, shares a good understanding with the SP. We are preparing for all seats; we cannot help others unless we are strong ourselves, so it is essential for both of us to be robust. The political climate in UP is shifting; change is on the horizon.”

One factor driving the potential alliance is AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) chief Asaduddin Owaisi’s decision to contest the state elections. This raises the risk of a split in the Muslim vote, a concern that is likely to compel the Congress and the SP to join forces.

In private conversations, Congress leaders suggest that the BJP might covertly back the parties led by Owaisi, Mayawati, and Chandrashekhar Azad to disrupt the Congress-SP strategy by fragmenting the Muslim and Dalit votes.

As for seat-sharing, the final decision will be made through direct discussions between Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi, sources said. While there will undoubtedly be some bargaining over the number of seats, leaders from both parties remain optimistic that a mutually acceptable solution will be found.

The Samajwadi Party is said to be considering a list of 60-80 seats for its ally, while Congress may seek around 120 seats during negotiations.