Amid speculation about seat-sharing for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, a meeting between Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav is on the cards in the second week of October in Delhi.
The Congress is likely to demand between 125 and 135 seats, including all 10 seats in Amethi (Tiloi, Salon, Jagdishpur, Gauriganj, Amethi) and Rae Bareli (Bachhrawan, Harchandpur, Rae Bareli, Sareni and Unchahar). With the two parties keen to put up a robust opposition against the ruling BJP, the development comes even as the SP launches its PDA Yatra and the Congress is busy restructuring the organisation in the state.
The Samajwadi Party plans to share a “good 65” seats with its ally, keeping the rest for itself and other partners, SP sources said.
Past experience—the 2024 Lok Sabha polls (when they contested together), the 2022 assembly elections (when the SP and the Congress contested separately)—and the present organisational strength of parties will be key to the discussions on 403 seats. In the 2017 assembly polls, the Congress fielded candidates for 114 seats and won seven seats. In 2022, the Congress contested 399 seats (out of 403) and won only two.
Once the talks gain momentum, Rahul Gandhi, leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP from Rae Bareli, is also expected to be involved in the final stages of the parleys. The agenda will be decided by top leadership. Surveys by the parties will be put on the table to back their respective claims. At that time, the Congress was in alliance with the SP.
Congress sources said the Delhi meeting will follow the announcement of the party’s state body and district and city presidents to underscore its organisational strength and help claim the desired seats in the alliance. Samajwadi Party national spokesperson Abbas Haider said, “Meetings are on the cards.
