The Congress party is mulling an alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls by attempting to win around 125 seats, it was reported. The discussions precede as the party gears up for talks with its future partner on sharing seats.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met Uttar Pradesh Congress leaders on Monday to finalise the seats on Monday, after which she engaged in a three-hour meeting with them. Some 175 constituencies were said to have been reviewed at the meeting and the party sought to determine where it could get nominations as part of an alliance.
Congress Prepares Constituency Lists
The Congress has drawn up a draft list of constituencies, which is split into three categories according to the assessment, the report says.
The suggested list contains approximately 100 Category A seats, 40-50 Category B seats and 25-35 Category C seats. In deciding which constituencies to prioritise in negotiations for the party, it is supposed to employ this classification.
It is later this week that Priyanka Gandhi will meet Uttar Pradesh Congress leaders once again. The party would then issue them a list of around 125 to 150 seats for consideration to the Samajwadi Party after these talks.
Representatives from the two sides, however, will need to hammer out an agreement, as will the final number of congressional seats wanted.
Priyanka Gandhi to Lead Seat-Sharing Talks
It is expected that Priyanka Gandhi will have a very prominent role in the talks with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. Discussions have the potential to influence opposition action plans for the next state wide elections.
Both Congress and the Uttar Pradesh government had run independent campaigns for the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, securing only two seats each. During that election, she was the party’s favourite son through and out, and Congress achieved a moderate election victory.
It is basically a declaration of a move by the party to consider co-borrowing with the SP in lieu of past strategies to compete alone. However, talks are still initial and a final seat-sharing deal has yet to be announced.